


Broken Rules

by pbmolecules



Series: Roadhouse Rules [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Absentee parent, Alcohol, Awkward Cas, Bar, Bar Fight, Brief Violence, Castiel/April briefly, Dean can be a dick sometimes, Dean with tattoos, Dean/Lisa briefly, Dishwasher!Cas, Dislike to like to Love, Ellen is boss, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Gabe to the rescue, Lawyer Gabriel, M/M, Nebraska, New Job, Runaway, Tattoos, The Roadhouse, Work Together, college age, cook!Dean, explicit for several sex scenes, homeless cas, hurt cas, janitor Cas, lawyer!Crowley, lawyer!Gabriel, lawyer!gabe, mention of suicide attempt (not by a main character), shitty childhood- Cas, summer before college, young and broke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-19 07:05:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 53,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13699374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pbmolecules/pseuds/pbmolecules
Summary: Destiel, Sabriel AU.Cas desperately needs a job.  The Roadhouse was the only place in town hiring.  He needs money.  He needs out of his current situation.  It turns out he might fit in better than anyone thought.Dean is stuck in this town.  Stuck in his job.  And stuck with a new dishwasher to work with.  He loves The Roadhouse...but he’s getting nowhere.  And now he’s having dirtier thoughts about the new guy than his own girlfriend!





	1. Night Shift

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Supernatural, the characters, any song, movie, TV show, or lyrics mentioned.
> 
> This will be a 2 part series.

Chapter 1. Night shift

 

Cas stood at the office door, nervously fidgeting with the sleeves of his trench coat. It was his first night to work. He had been interviewed two days ago to start as a night custodian and one man clean up crew for the dive bar he could walk to from April's apartment. He needed this job badly. He was completely intimidated by Ellen, the owner and woman that had interviewed him. He had his suspicions that she felt bad for him. It may have been the only reason he got the job, but he was in no position to complain. 

As Ellen hung up the phone, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration with the call, Castiel stepped into the cluttered office. 

"Hello, Ellen," he said with a small smile.

"Oh, hey. Come on in," she waved. "I have some forms for you to fill out." She handed him three forms and he sat down to complete them. Her hair was down and she wore her usual no-nonsense look. He could see the sharp spikes of a tattoo peeking out of the V-neck shirt she wore.

"When you're done, come on over to the kitchen and I can get you started."

"Okay, thank you," Castiel said, filling in blanks the best he could. He frowned a little harder at each question he had to lie on, skip, or come back to. Well, he had a name and social security number...so he was likely to get paid if he could keep the job.

Ten minutes later, Castiel found his way to the noisy kitchen. There were still a few patrons in the front and music still played, but the evening felt like it was coming to a close. He walked into the brightly lit kitchen where two waitresses sat at a table, one counting her tips, a snake tattoo coiling around her forearm. The other waitress sat, wrapping silverware. A cook was at the grill, but it looked like he was cleaning his station, all food prep shut down for the night. Ellen came in through another door with an empty crate, sitting it on a table with a controlled thump.

"Everyone, this is Castiel, our new night guy." Castiel gave a small wave as all eyes turned to him.

"This is Meg," Ellen pointed at the waitress counting tips.

"Hey there, blue eyes," she grinned seductively, eyeing him like candy. She had wavy brown hair and a devilish grin.

"This is Lisa," Ellen continued over her. The other waitress smiled at him. She was lovely, with tan skin and shiny dark brown hair.

"Dean is our cook," Ellen pointed at a guy that looked to be Castiel's age, early twenties, with light brown hair, green eyes and a smattering of freckles that gave him a playful look. Tattoos peeked out of the edges of his long sleeve Henley.

"Hey," he called, barely turning to see him as he scrubbed the grill top.

A tall young kid came out of a freezer carrying a piled tray of meat.

"That's Sam, he does dishes."

"Hi!" Sam said, sliding the frozen heap onto a table.

"Hello," Castiel managed.

Ellen proceeded to show Castiel his checklist of nightly, weekly, and monthly duties, explaining how each job worked. Castiel had never worked in a restaurant before and it was all new to him. In high school he had worked at his father’s accounting firm and during college he worked in the library and bookstore on campus. This was going to be very different. It wasn't full time, but it was better than minimum wage.

He learned procedures for mopping and wiping down tables, chairs and booths once all patrons had left. 

Ellen finally left him to begin trash rounds as the other staff trickled out, Sam and Meg saying goodbye to him. 

Feeling semi-comfortable with his remaining list of things to do, Ellen left with instructions for how to lock up. 

It was strange to be alone in a business. He focused on his work, diligently referring to his checklists. He put his things away and checked the front door lock. 

The bar had a smell. Beer. Liquor. Peanuts. It was a heavy smell, but it was good. It was rich and grounding. The main restaurant and bar area was a big rectangle with booths lining the windows, tables in the center, and a wide open area in front of the large bar. There was something so classic about the feel.

As you came into the bar through the front door, the bar took center stage along the middle of the back wall. The bar had 17 stools surrounding three sides of it. Two doors led to the back. The one the waitresses used that swung either way with a light bump. The other door was behind the bar, usually where Ellen or the bartender, Rufus, passed through to the back. The shelves behind the bar were stocked full of liquors of all sorts. The tap handles were worn with years of pulling. To the right of the bar was a jukebox in the back corner, near the restrooms. In front of it was a well-worn pool table.

Cas ran two fingers along the green felt lining. The sticks were all mounted on the wall, balls accounted for and resting in the catch below. 

To the right of the bar, just after the jukebox, was a short hall that led to the bathrooms. That was his least favorite part of cleaning. He did not want to even imagine what took place in the single stall men’s or women’s rooms. 

To the left of the bar was the waitresses swinging door, leading to the kitchen and hall where the staff bathroom, office, storage rooms, and back door was. 

If his family could see him now, growing comfortable in a place like this, they would have plenty to say about it. It would be another thing to mock him for. Another ‘disappointment’. The thought left a small grin on his face. 

He locked the door and walked the mile to April's apartment. 

The night was clear and quiet and brisk. He came in quietly at 3:30 and dropped onto the couch, falling asleep having only taken off his shoes and coat.

 

=================

 

Dean flipped three burgers over and pulled out a basket of fries to cool.

"Hey, Jo! Get me more fries from the back, would ya?" He hollered over the radio playing above the grill. 

"Sure," she called from the depths of the walk-in refrigerator.

He laid cheese on two burgers and began frying a small pile of mushrooms and onions.

"Mom is in a foul mood!" Jo bitched, sitting a container of fries on a work space next to the fryer.

Dean glanced over at Ellen, Jo's mother, who was giving one of her suppliers hell on the phone. She had been extra edgy lately. 

He plated the three burgers, adding fries and slid the plates down for Meg to finish before taking them away to customers. That was Dean's last order, so he turned the grill off and wiped his forehead with a towel. He put one order of fries in the fryer for himself and started cleaning up.

Meg and Lisa came in, talking about a pool game gone bad earlier that night. 

Dean noticed the new guy slip quietly into the kitchen and hang up his coat to start work. His hair was brown, almost black, and he had bright blue eyes that made Dean stare like an idiot. 

"Hey," Dean called, forgetting the guy's name already.

"Hello, Dean," he said formally.

Dean narrowed his eyes at him a bit. He didn't quite fit in around here. Harvelle's Roadhouse was a biker bar. Rough crowd, loud music, the occasional brawl... This guy looked like he could be working in an office building somewhere. 

"What's your name again?" He asked.

"Castiel," he said quietly, pulling out some cleaning supplies.

"Castiel?" Meg practically purred, making Dean roll his eyes. "What kind of name is that?"

"I was named after the angel, Castiel." 

"Angel, huh?" She grinned. "It's so cute it makes me vomit in my mouth a little bit!" She baby talked, tweaking the guy's nose as she walked by.

Dean had to laugh at how puzzled he looked and how he waved her hand away quickly.

"Down, Meg," Dean chided, always finding her annoying.

She smiled and flipped him off.

"Cas-tiel," Sam said, coming up behind the new-comer.

Dean laughed at how awkward his brother made it sound. It wasn't that difficult.

"Jeez, Sam, you better just stick with Cas."

"Yeah," Sam laughed. "How are ya, Cas?"

"Good," Castiel grinned, "How are you?"

"Freakin wiped," Sam said. "My feet are killing me and I'm starved."

Dean turned quickly, pulling the fries out of the fryer, almost having forgotten about them. He sat the basket up to cool and turned the equipment off.

"I got ya some fries, Sammy," Dean said, knowing Sam would want them.

"Awesome!" Sam called.

Dean finished cleaning his work station and sat at the work table, waiting on Lisa to be finished.

"Night, Clarence," Meg said, winking at Cas as she left.

"Night," he said, unsure she was addressing him.

Dean thought the guy was way too awkward to make it around here. He better look alive, or someone was bound to really start messing with him.

"Where ya from, Cas?" Dean asked, watching him fill a bucket with water to mop.

"Illinois," he said flatly.

Dean nodded.

"Why are you in Nebraska now?"

"I was...well, I'm...it's a long story. One I would rather avoid at the moment."

Huh, long story? Dean watched Cas set to mopping. He got Sam's fries and pulled his own jacket on.

"Night, Cas!" Sam called, grabbing the fries and following him and Lisa out the back door.

"Good night," they barely heard him call back.

Outside, Dean unlocked his car and got in the driver's seat. Sam flopped into the back and Lisa slid into the passenger seat beside him.

"What a long night," she complained.

"Yeah," Dean nodded, starting the engine and relaxing a bit as his Baby rumbled to life.

"That new guy is weird," Lisa said.

"Yeah," Dean mumbled.

"I think he seems nice," Sam said. 

Dean huffed a laugh. Of course Sam thought he was nice. His brother saw the good in everyone. "Dude's named after a friggin angel! What was Ellen thinking?"

"He'll be gone soon," Lisa shrugged. "One good bar fight and then he'll be running away scared."

"Probably," Dean answered automatically.

"Dean," Sam said, leaning forward onto the front seat, "did you talk to Ellen tonight? Man, she was pissed."

"I noticed," Dean nodded.

"I think it has something to do with money or that accountant."

Dean chewed on that thought the rest of the way home while Lisa went on about her sister and her friends. Dean liked Ellen. She was a tough little broad that Dean felt rather protective of. He had been working at the Roadhouse for a year now. It's where he met Lisa. And now even Sam was working there until he left for college in August. The place was an extension of home. He dropped Sam off at home, where he still lived with their parents, and then took Lisa home. 

"You coming in?" she asked.

"Nah, I got shit to do in the morning."

Lisa sighed. "If you would get rid of your stupid apartment, you wouldn't have so much extra stuff to do. You would save money-"

"Lisa," Dean sighed back. This was an old argument. He had no good excuses left, only that his tiny, crappy apartment was a piece of his own independence. And he wasn't budging.

"I'm just saying!" Lisa snapped.

"I know," he placated. She kissed him briefly and hopped out of the car. 

He watched as she climbed the outside steps up to her apartment. Lisa was gorgeous. His dick gave a half-hearted twitch as he watched her disappear inside. He should be jumping at the chance to live with her. Instead, he cranked the volume on his stereo and headed home.


	2. Day Shift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting to know each other a bit more. Could be good...could be awkward :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no beta on this one guys! All mistakes are my own.  
> I hope you are enjoying The Roadhouse!

Chapter 2. Day shift

 

Cas took a steadying breath as he hung his coat on the hook in the back of the kitchen. He had been working in the bar for almost two weeks. He preferred it when it was empty. But tonight would be different for sure.

"You're early," Meg grinned, coming through the door with an empty tray.

"Yes," Castiel said, hesitating. Meg was overly friendly sometimes and nasty other times. You could never be certain which Meg you were getting. Her smile that rarely met her eyes did not help decipher which Meg it would be. "Ellen has me helping out tonight."

"Peachy, we need more blood around here," she winked, putting tickets up on the turn-style so Dean could pull them.

Dean gave him an empty glance, going back to his grill. He was wearing short sleeves tonight and Cas could not take his eyes off Dean's tattoos. He did not simply have a tattoo. He had sleeves. He could see colors, words, and pictures trailing from his wrists up into the sleeves of his t-shirt. Castiel wanted to come around the prep table and examine each arm in detail, but he quickly swung his eyes away. 

"Castiel!" Ellen called, flying through the door that led to the bar. 

"Yes, ma'am," Castiel jumped.

"Good, you're here. Clock in. Sam!"

"Yeah?" Sam called from the far sink.

"Teach him dishes. You can food prep for Dean."

"Got it," Sam grinned.

Ellen merely pointed toward Sam and Castiel headed his direction. 

Sam gave him the run-down and Castiel started immediately. The dishes piled and piled. They just never seemed to stop. He would put a set away and another would build quickly. 

"I need this washed," came the low voice of Dean from behind him.

Castiel turned, his eyes taking in Dean's cool green eyes. Standing this close, Cas could make out what looked like a faded woman in a dress that blew in a wind on his arm. She was beautiful and haunting at the same time. Under her feet were the words Salt and Burn. What a beautiful and strange combination. He jerked his eyes away from staring, taking the pot and put it into the sink. He jerked his hand back from the water, sloshing water onto his shoes and the floor. "Damnit!" 

"It's hot, dumb-ass!" Dean snapped, grabbing Castiel's wrist to see the hand he was holding. Further up Dean’s arm was a monster of some sort, clawing its way out. There was writing all around it, but it was in another language.

"I got that," Castiel ground out, glaring. "A little warning woulda been nice."

Dean rolled his eyes, looking at Castiel's hand. "You'll live," he said, letting go.

Castiel glared, looking at the burn himself. A long red rise ran along his index finger. Yep, he would live. And yep, it was gonna hurt for the rest of the night. Friggin fantastic.

"You need me to do it?" Dean snapped.

"Gimme a dang minute," Castiel snapped.

Dean's eyebrows shot up and a look of pure amusement lit up his handsome face. "Oh my! Cas is gettin agitated, people!" He shouted, walking back to the grill. "He said 'dang'!"

Castiel turned back to the needed pot and began scrubbing.

"Shut up, Dean," Sam laughed. "You burnt the guy, now you're gonna complain he doesn't swear enough?"

"Guy's a-" Dean stopped, rolling his eyes.

"Quit biting off everyone's head because you and Lisa are fighting," Sam warned, his earlier amusement slipping.

"I'm not biting anyone, bitch," Dean snapped.

"Jerk," Sam answered automatically.

Cas wiped the pot off and brought it over to Dean, his mouth set in a hard line. Castiel had been around Dean's type before. He was a cocky bully. The funny guy at other's expense, the guy that might kick your ass for looking at you the wrong way. 

Castiel thought everyone that worked in this bar was that way. Except maybe Sam. Although, if push came to shove, Sam would be able to fight. It made Castiel a bit nervous. They all had tattoos. They dressed in t-shirts and jeans. They swore and picked on each other a lot. But Dean, Dean irritated him the most. Probably because everyone, including Ellen, seemed to love him and want him to laugh with them or be with them. 

Dean took the pot with a smirk and handed him three more. "These are nice and cool for your delicate hands."

Castiel rolled his eyes and headed back to the sink with them. Per his usual, he chose not to engage. He set to scrubbing and gave them back quickly. 

"You're such a dick sometimes," he heard Sam say.

"Oh, cry me a river, Sammy. Better it's me than him out front gettin chewed up and spit out by the bikers."

Castiel kept his ears open and his eyes down. Finally, the dishes were slowing and the front of the bar was quiet.

"Hey, Cas," Ellen said, patting his shoulder. "How's it goin?"

"Good," Castiel smiled.

"You're a hard worker, thanks for coming in early tonight. Lost my assistant to a better job that can give her benefits." She shrugged and Castiel gave her an understanding smile.

"I'm glad for the hours, really," Castiel said.

Ellen nodded. "I can work ya full time. But I got no benefits to offer right now."

"That's fine!" Castiel said. "I don't need them, just the hours, the pay," he encouraged.

She nodded again. "Perfect. Dishes, same time for the next three nights. Next week we can look at moving you to food prep or even waiting tables."

Dean snorted. 

"What's so funny, Winchester?" Ellen turned, eyeing him.

Dean schooled his face, his green eyes moving from Ellen to Castiel and back. "Are you serious? You can't put him out front."

"And why the hell not?" Ellen asked, hand on her hip.

"Hey," Dean feigned innocence, "I'm just lookin out for the guy. You put him out front waiting tables and they will eat him alive. He's too..."

Castiel was seething angry at this point, but all he did was glare, hands in fists.

"You mind your own damn business," Ellen snapped, surprising him. He had figured Ellen would laugh along. "Just because he's not tatted and dresses better than you, doesn't mean shit. And give people some credit, Dean, you think you got everybody all figured out, don't ya? Well, you just mind yer own."

Dean's humor was all gone now. Castiel's anger drained away as he watched dark shadows pass through those green eyes. Served the cocky bastard right to get knocked down a peg, but Ellen was doing the knocking. That meant either Dean would retaliate later or maybe actually give him some space.

Ellen glanced around the kitchen at everyone watching.

"I don't much appreciate any kind of intolerance here. Three rules to workin' here. Mind your own damn business, don't date coworkers, and be on time. Get to work."

Castiel and Dean exchanged the briefest of glances. Neither friendly nor attacking. Both were unreadable.

Ellen moved on, heading to the office and Castiel began wiping down the sink area. He hated working with people. People sucked. Humanity in general, sucked.

 

The kitchen was cleaned up and people trickled out. Castiel sat at the work table to have a soda before starting on his night shift duties.

"You heading out?" Sam asked.

"No, I have the night shift," Castiel explained.

Sam nodded. He glanced across the kitchen at Dean and Lisa waiting at the back door. Dean had been quiet the rest of the night and now he was looking down right pissed. Lisa was talking at him, but he obviously had a wall up.

"I gotta go," Sam said, "sorry my brother is such a dick sometimes."

Castiel looked at Dean again and then back to Sam. "You two are brothers?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded.

"Don't worry about it Sam. I'm not as fragile as your brother takes me for."

"Don't let him bother you. I'll see ya tomorrow then!" Sam gave him an encouraging smile and left with the other two.

Castiel had been working at the Roadhouse for two weeks now. Tomorrow he got his first paycheck and he desperately needed it. Everything he owned could fit in a duffle bag. He needed some supplies. He needed more clothes. Some shoes. And he needed to help April pay for food and utilities. He tossed his drained soda cup in the trash and got to work. Night shift was much easier than dish duty. It was quiet. Ellen would hang around sometimes. Occasionally her daughter, Jo, would hang around as well. She talked to him a little, but did not bother him. Tonight, Rufus, the bartender, was sitting at the bar with Ellen and a friend of their's named Bobby. They were deep in conversation and Castiel found it easy to clean around them, saving duties that would disturb them for after they left. 

 

As his evening ended and he locked the door behind him, heading to April's, he wondered how long he would need to work here. He did not like the crowd. He did not like his coworkers. Except Sam. And Ellen. And sometimes Meg was okay too.

He pulled his coat off, getting hot even at 3:30 in the morning. It was the third week of June and summer was heating up.

 

===============

 

Dean ran his fingers through Lisa's long, silky hair. He kissed her quickly, giving her a wink and a (hopefully) charming grin. 

She stepped away from him, putting her hair up into a ponytail. "Just think about it, babe," she smiled.

"I will." He turned away from her, washing his hands and then stepping up to the grill and trying to clear his mind. Lisa and him went round and round yesterday about him joining her father's contracting company. An opening had come up and she wanted him to take it. She wanted him to work for her father and eventually run the company with her sister, Michelle. 

Dean wanted nothing to do with contracting work. Yeah, he was handy. He could do most anything if he just looked at the parts long enough. But he did not want to. They had fought until he said he would think about it. Then she brought up him moving in with her. He rarely stayed all night anymore and it was pissing her off. They both decided they had a lot to think about. She gave him until Sunday. Tomorrow. Then, they would talk again. For now, she was being as sweet as pie. He knew it was a tactic. Not that she was malicious, she just wanted her way. And he wanted his.

"I see you two kissed and made up," Sam snorted, prepping food at the tables behind him.

"For now," Dean sighed, lining up containers and dropping in two baskets of fries.

Dean watched as Cas came quietly in the back door. No coat for once. Who wears a trench coat in June anyway? Creepy people, that's who. He looked away as those damn blue eyes of his landed on him. People had always told Dean he had beautiful eyes. He could get away with a lot when he was younger, batting his eyes a little. And it certainly helped him pick up chicks. But never before had he seen eyes on another guy that drew him in the way Cas' blue eyes could do. It was unnerving and made him hard to look at. Sam did not seem to have the same problem, and was already talking to him like it was nothing. 

Orders came and went and the evening went by pretty quickly.

"Hey Clarence," Meg called across the room. "Your girlfriend is at the bar asking for you."

Dean glanced over, seeing Cas dry his hands off and walk toward the bar door. A few minutes later, a pretty girl with wavy reddish-brown hair came back with him.

"April, this is Sam," Cas introduced.

"Oh, hi April!" Sam said, waving a gloved hand and grinning like the nice guy his little brother was. "Nice to meet you, I hear lots of good stuff about you."

How had Sam heard anything about her? How did he even know about her at all?

"You too Sam!" She said, holding Cas' hand snuggly and giving Sam a shy smile. The way she clung to Cas’ arm rubbed Dean the wrong way immediately. Cas didn’t seem to particularly enjoy it either, if he was reading him right. 

"You already met Meg and Ellen," Cas said.

Lisa came in with tickets for the turn-style, looking at the unfamiliar girl.

"This is Lisa, Lisa this is my girlfriend, April," Cas grinned.

"Nice to meet you," Lisa smiled easily.

April's eyes glanced at Dean, not asking.

"Oh," Cas said, following her gaze, "That's Dean, the cook. Dean, this is April."

"Hey," Dean threw on a charming smile, watching April blush slightly. "Don't believe everything you hear about me."

April giggled, but said nothing back.

Cas ushered her out the back door a minute later, coming back and going straight back to work.

"She's pretty, Cas," Sam said.

"Yes, very," Cas agreed.

"How long you two been together?" Dean asked.

Cas twitched his mouth, but answered, "A month."

Dean went back to his grill, plating several patties and an order of mozzarella sticks.

It was Dean's last order and Lisa whisked it away. 

"So, are you two going to come to the park with me tomorrow?" Sam asked Cas.

Dean tossed four burgers on the grill. He was starved. 

"Yes, I think so," Cas said. Dean rolled his eyes. His brother. Leave it to him to make friends with the new guy so readily. 

Lisa came in and Dean waved her over. "Write me up for 4 burger baskets, would ya?"

"Yep," she said, pulling out her receipt book and heading back out front for the register.

"Alright," Ellen called, walking in the side kitchen door with envelopes in her hand. "Pay day!"

She doled out checks and headed back to her office.

"Ellen!" Dean called. He did not like the tension between them. He was usually Ellen's favorite. Now that Cas made him look like a fuckin bully, she had been cold shouldering him. "Made you a burger," he grinned.

Her eyes cautiously lit up. "Thank you, Dean."

She took the burger and fries with her and left for her office.

Dean glanced over at Cas, who was drying off his counter. There, what was he going to give her? A clean dish?

He smirked and sat at the work table. "Sam, want a burger?"

"No, man. I'm good. Cas? You want a burger?"

Cas looked at the two unclaimed plates on the table with obvious want, but his eyes went to Dean's before he answered.

"Have it," Dean said, shrugging a shoulder.

Cas sat across from him, gently pulling one of the plates towards himself. "I'll pay you for it," Cas said. Dean shrugged, watching as Cas' eyes ran up and down his arms. He was looking at his tattoos. Great. That will either totally scare him off or he was in for a lecture of some sort about how he would never get a real job with his arms looking like they did. He looked away, probably trying not to stare. Dean looked at Cas' smooth, tan skin. He could tat him up in no time. He was a blank canvas, Dean betted. Under those button up shirts and dress pants was just skin. No ink.

Dean took a big bite of his burger and watched as Cas did the same. This guy was so weird. He looked like he was either going to orgasm or cry after the first bite.

"Good, huh?" Dean smirked.

Cas nodded. "That is...very good."

"He's a dick, but he can cook," Sam laughed, sitting next to Dean.

"Shut up, Sam," Dean snapped.

Sam just laughed, opening his pay check. "Cool, I can get some more crap for school," Sam said. 

Dean nodded. He opened his own. It was hard to believe he put as much work as he did into a night and got paid so damn little. He shut the envelope and tried not let his annoyance show. 

Cas opened his own and seemed to read every word. The look of enjoyment on his face was funny.

"Is this your first job, Cas?" Dean laughed. "I never saw someone here so excited to get a paycheck." 

His snickering died off at the embarrassed look on Cas' face. He quickly folded the check up and put it in his pocket.

"No, Dean, this is not my first job."

Dean considered the blue eyes slightly glaring at him. He pulled his eyes away, going back to his burger.

Maybe there was more to this guy than him just being some pretty-boy. His speech was too formal, his clothes too preppy, and his looks too clean-cut. Dean had a distrust for well-dressed people. But as he observed a little closer, Cas' clothes were looking pretty worn. His eyes were downcast a lot, but not so much in intimidation as in...well, he couldn't quite place it. Like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. His formal speech and his pretty, preppy little girlfriend told him the guy hung out with a totally different crowd. But he was good to Sam. And Sam liked him. Maybe the guy was hurting for money or something and needed that check bad. As that thought sunk in, Dean watched as Cas finished the burger, still in rapture. The dude was hungry. Looking even closer, he noticed how his shirt was a bit baggy and his pants as well. He was clean. And with the way he carried himself, it looked like he was just another pretentious rich kid. But that was not really the case, Dean suspected.

"Hey," Dean said quieter as Sam got up to go to the bathroom before they left.

Cas raised his blue eyes, his mouth coming to a stop mid-chew.

Dean blinked a few times. Every damn time those eyes landed on his it was like looking into the sun. It made him blink and flinch and almost fucking twitch. He pushed on through the distraction. "Take that burger too. I'm full and no one else wants it."

Cas looked at the untouched burger and fries, chewed a few times and his eyes swung back to Dean's. "No, that's okay."

"Aw, come on man, I'm sorry if I was a jerk the other day. But trust me, you don't want to be waiting tables out front."

"Your girlfriend does it," Cas said, his eyes narrowing.

Dean laughed. "Yeah, Lisa would kick anyone's ass if they got too lippy or too handsy. She can handle herself."

Cas swallowed and wiped his mouth. "And you assume that I can not. Take care of myself, that is."

Dean's eyebrows shot up and he looked amused. "Uh, no. No offense."

Cas bit his lip and looked away. He threw his napkin onto his plate and stood up. "I can handle myself, Dean. Why don't you just mind your grill and let me handle my own business."

Dean did not let himself squirm under the steady gaze. "Okay, terminator," Dean laughed.

Cas immediately looked confused, losing the intimidation he had been going for. "I don't know what you mean by that."

Dean's laugh died. "Terminator? You know, Arnold Schwarzenegger?"

Blank, blue eyes.

"You've never seen Terminator?"

"No," Cas said, looking put off.

Sam returned, looking between the two. 

"Hey Sammy, maybe instead of the park, you can take your new bestie here to see a movie. Dude's never seen Terminator."

Sam half laughed. "Tomorrow we are going biking. You know, it's almost like exercise, Dean."

Mmm, his brother the smart ass. "That's why I have a car genius. It goes faster, farther, and I don't sweat."

Sam rolled his eyes and Cas actually smiled. 

Huh. He had never noticed it, but when Cas smiled, his shoulders relaxed and...damn. He looked good.

He gave Sam a suspicious look. Cas had a girlfriend. One he didn’t like very much, by what his body language said. So, what was Sam up to? Just being friendly Sam? Or did he have the hots for this guy?

Dean slid the uneaten burger in front of Cas. “Eat it or pitch it.” 

Cas’ smile had quickly faded, making Dean second-guess if he had seen it at all.


	3. Weekends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas gets physical. Dean gets silly. The Roadhouse gets threatened.

Chapter 3. Weekends

 

Cas followed Sam through the back door of the Roadhouse. The music was loud and the crowd was louder than he had ever heard it. Cheers, singing, noise in general, flooded into the kitchen every time a waitress came through the door. Lisa, Meg and Jo were waitressing tonight. Rufus and Ellen were manning the bar, Dean, Ash and Sam were cooking, and Cas was on dish duty from hell.

He and Sam had spent a wonderful afternoon on a bike trail at a local park. Halfway through the night, he was regretting that extra mile they had so eagerly biked. His legs were sore and tired.

As Cas took a pot from Dean, submerging it and waiting a moment for it to cool, he thought about the tattoos he was able to see the day before on Dean's arms. He was pretty sure the woman was a ghost. Further up his left arm was some kind of wolffish monster, a vampire peeking around the back side of his arm, some kind of person that was part black smoke, and another animal peeking out the bottom of his sleeve. A dog maybe or another wolf thing. They were beautifully done, blending from one picture to another in a way that made your eye travel up his arm like a roadmap. Or a graphic novel. He had wanted to ask, but did not want to deal with any smart ass comments. So, he said nothing. His right sleeve was full of weapons, symbols and words in another language. It was intriguing.  
Who was he kidding? It was badass and hot. On the inside of his right forearm was a sword. Next to that, point to point, were two knives. There was something very rugged, yet elegant about it. And...he was so handsome that Cas still struggled to interact with him at times. Even if he could be a jerk occasionally.

Meg came in looking pissed, beer dripping from her shirt. She made a beeline for the sink, Cas stepping out of her way so she could clean up.

"Stupid, filthy, pigs," she complained, wiping her shirt with wet paper towels.

"What happened?" Cas asked, reaching to help.

"Just stupid people, Clarence. Drunk idiot spilled a beer on me."

A loud raucous erupted from the front and Cas could hear Ellen yelling. Dean and Sam headed for the door and Castiel quickly followed.

The crowd was thick, but an immediate clearing was forming where five guys were fighting in front of the bar. Ellen was on the phone, sounded like to the police, and Rufus was helping a lady get out of the way. 

Dean and Sam jumped over the bar like deer, jumping right into the fight to break it up. Castiel went around the bar, pushing people out of the way as two of the five fighting men came close. Dean was already sporting a bloody lip, but had one guy on the ground. Sam was restraining the other, who was still lunging toward the guy Dean had on the ground. That left three. Castiel yelled at one of the guys to quit hitting. Nothing happened, so Castiel caught the next punch with his hand, swinging the guy backwards. The guy getting punched, crumpled onto the floor, panting hard and bleeding from his eye and nose.

"Who the hell are you?!" The guy roared lunging now toward Castiel.

Castiel sternum blocked him so hard it swept him off his feet and landed with a hard crunch onto the floor, wind knocked out of himself. Castiel held his palm flat against the sternum, the man writhing slightly under him as he looked up at Dean. 

Dean's eyes were wide with surprise.

The fifth man went to lunge at Castiel for knocking his friend to the floor. Castiel stood, ready, but a gunshot rang through the air. The crowd ducked and screamed, some running.

It was enough to make the guy stop. He gave Castiel a leering look, but Castiel merely stared back at him.

"That'll be enough," Ellen said with teeth gritted and a gun pointed toward the ceiling. 

Police arrived and the five were taken outside to question by the sheriff.

"Get back in the kitchen, boys," Ellen said, giving them all an appreciative nod.

Castiel, Sam and Dean went through the door, none of them returning to their work stations immediately. 

"Jesus," Meg muttered, pouring five shots of whiskey and sliding them to Dean, Sam, Castiel, herself, and Lisa. "To Friday night fights!" She cheered.

They all downed their shots and sat the empty glasses down with a thud. 

Lisa handed Dean a wad of napkins for his bloody lip.

"So," Meg cooed, "our little angel can throw down in a fight! What do you say to that Dean?"

Dean laughed, "Guess you're tougher than you look, Cas."

Castiel gave him a cursory glance while Sam slapped him on the back.

"Good to know we have some more back up," Sam said, laughing.

They went back to work, all of them reeling a bit from their adrenaline pumping.

The crowd was substantially calmer after that, and the evening ended with no more major events.

Ellen came in, eyeing all three guys. "Thanks for the back up boys. Hopefully we won't have anymore brawlers for awhile."

They all gave her a nod and continued with their clean up.

Everyone trailed out as their shifts ended, and Cas switched gears to start his night shift.

"So, where'd you learn moves like that?" Jo asked Castiel, a flirty smile on her face.

Castiel steadied the mop in his hand and looked at her. "Home," he said flatly.

"Damn," she laughed, "and here I thought you were from some uppity rich family!"

Castiel brooked his comments, but said, "Uppity, rich people can be very aggressive."

Dean snorted, but not with the same mock he had before. "Well damn, I'd rather fight beside you than against you. Who knew angels were so ferocious?"

"Angels are warriors," Castiel said automatically, "Not Christmas tree toppers."

Dean's eyebrows shot up and he and Lisa exchanged a look. "Well, now we know."

Ash, who had not said five words to him all night, gave him a quiet, calculating look. It was not anything unusual from him. Ash had a tendency to to be quiet, disappear, and give you a look like he knew a whole lot more about you than expected. Castiel ducked away from it, going back to his mopping. He nodded goodbyes as his coworkers left. He went through his night shift routines methodically, providing him some sense of calm again.

By the time he locked up at 3am, Castiel was exhausted. He had patched the bullet hole on the inside, and Ellen said her friend Bobby would patch the roof in the morning. It had been another long week. As he walked to April's, he made a mental list of all the things he needed to do tomorrow. It was Saturday and he had the day off. He needed to go shopping. He needed to call his brother. It was time to reach out to his family.

 

===============

 

Dean was having great difficulty staying focused on the grill in front of him. He had spent all day Saturday at his own apartment. He had done what Lisa asked and really thought about things. He was not happy. And neither was Lisa. They had been together for the last four months. 

They had hooked up one night after work and things were pretty hot and heavy from the beginning. That all faded pretty quickly the clingier she got. She barely knew him and wanted him to change his plans in life for her. He was biding his time, helping earn money for Sam to go to school, then planning on enlisting in the Army. His dad had been a marine years ago and had raised Sam and him like little soldiers. It would be a good move for Dean. Lisa was not having it though. It was 'too dangerous' and she 'wasn't traipsing all over the world to follow him'. 

What bothered him most was that he did not care. Fine, if she wasn't into his plans? See ya. But for a brief period of a week or two, Dean thought Lisa might be the one. She might be the right one to settle down with. Start a life with. He had thought for so long that he was bound to be single for life. He could be hard to get along with. Hard to please. And even harder to keep. Something was missing. And he knew the problem lay mostly with himself. Yes, Lisa was being clingy, bossy, and rushing things. But truth be told, he was over the whole relationship.

So, how do you fix that? You don't. So on comes the ugly part. 

"Dude, you're burnin' somethin'!" Ash said, bumping Dean out of the way. 

He stepped back, letting Ash take over. "Sorry, man. I'll be back in like ten minutes," he said, walking away. 

"I got this," Ash said, "just take off man. Lisa's waiting out back anyway."

Dean nodded and went out the back door like he was marching to his own funeral.

She was leaning against his car, talking on her phone. It was warm and beautiful outside. A soft breeze tossed her hair and she caught a glimpse of him. "Gotta go," she said quickly, hanging up her phone.

"Who was that?" Dean asked, just making small talk.

"Michelle," she said nonchalantly. 

Dean gave her a questioning look. "Michelle's in the office talking to Ellen."

"Yeah..." She stuttered a moment and Dean had a sinking feeling. "I didn't know she was in there and I called...I got off right away."

Dean nodded. He could tell she was lying. But why was she lying?

"So..." She said, snagging his sleeve and pulling him toward her wiggling hips. "Are you moving in with me this week?"

Dean sighed. Their eyes clashed silently. She dropped his sleeve, hips freezing and arms crossing over her chest.

"I'm not moving in. And I'm not taking the job with your dad. I had plans before I met you, Lisa, and I have got to get out of this town, even if that isn't for long."

"This is so typical Dean! You don’t need to move. Or join the Army, and enough with the tattooing already! I’m making REAL life plans! A real job, right here!" She continued to lecture, his mind only snapping to, when she said, "If you don't get your act together then I'm out. I knew you weren't serious. You aren't taking any of this seriously!"

"I am, Lisa," he snapped, hearing enough. "I'm out. We're done. I'm not what you are looking for. I can't commit and I'm not staying in Fremont, Nebraska forever."

She attempted to slap him, but he deflected her hit.

"Fuck you, Dean Winchester! I knew you were no good! I should have listened to my father!"

Dean stood there and took the litany of shitty things she had to say until she was done and left.

He felt hollow. Not even sad, which had been one of the things that had made her so angry. He walked to the front of the Roadhouse and sat at the bar. He was done working for the day. He might as well drink the rest of it away.

 

===============

 

Castiel came into the Roadhouse quietly. He had walked past an ugly scene in the back parking lot of Dean and Lisa. Dean was just standing there while Lisa screamed at him. The guy might be a jerk, but even Cas had to feel for him. 

He saddled up to the sink, glancing back and seeing Sam come in. "Hello, Sam."

"Hey, Cas!"

"Did you see if Dean is out back still?"

Sam looked toward the back door and grimaced. "I think he is breaking up with Lisa. She wants him to work for her dad and Dean doesn't want to."

Cas nodded sympathetically. He was feeling a bit the same way with April. She was rather...smothering. But his complications were beyond whether he wanted to date her or not. He owed her.

The door to the bar burst open and Ellen stormed through, stopping and wheeling around on a man in a suit who was following her.

"There has to be another way!" She said.

"I've checked, triple checked, and had my boys look into several options. This is the safest route for you to take."

She crossed her arms and gave him a stern look. "This just doesn't make sense. We were fine last year at this time. This year has been the same. Somethings not right."

His eyebrows raised and he gave her a tired nod. "All business owners think they're fine until suddenly they're not. The numbers don't lie, Ms. Harvelle. You can't sink like this much longer. But I can hold things off for maybe another month. After that...it's time to bail out."

"I'm not bailing out!" Ellen snapped. "And neither are you! You're the one that is supposed to stop this from happening. So, stop it!"

She turned and left for her office and the man in the suit quietly disappeared.

Castiel exchanged a nervous glance with Ash and Sam.

"Who was that?" He asked.

"My mother's lawyer," Jo said, surprising them all as she stopped at the work table. "The guy's a creep. He's her accountant and lawyer. Doesn't that seem like a conflict of interest?"

"Yeah," Cas, Sam and Ash answered.

"Look, I gotta get back out there, but maybe you guys can talk to her. Or give her someone better to talk to than that smarmy Crowley."

"Crowley?" Cas asked, a memory nudging him, but he was unable to place the thought. 

"Yeah," Jo said, watching him closely.

"Name rings a bell...but I can't remember why. Crowley. Fergus Crowley."

"That's right," Jo nodded, looking at him curiously.

Cas shrugged, unable to retrieve the memory.

Everyone went back to work and the evening flew by. 

Jo came through the bar door, heading for Sam. "You might wanna get your brother under control out there," Jo warned.

Sam gave Cas a look and Cas washed his hands and stepped into his food prepping role. Sam disappeared through the door and was gone for at least ten minutes.

Finally he came back looking discouraged.

"No luck?" Cas said.

"Dude's a train wreck waiting to happen out there. I hate when he drinks bad like this."

"Why are they serving him?" Cas asked.

"Because I will take him home. If they cut him off, he'll just go look for a liquor store or another bar."

"Does he do this a lot?" Castiel asked, his image of Dean de-valuing by the minute.

"Used to," Ash said sliding him a plate to prep. "Been awhile though. Lisa was kinda good for him that way."

Sam rolled his eyes. "So he goes nuts one night. I'll give him this one. After this? He'll have me to answer to. Besides, I'm glad the Lisa thing is over. She just wasn't right for him."

Cas went back to his dishes, finishing the night. Ellen, in a very unusual mood, left early.

"So, you guys done back here?" Jo asked.

The three nodded.

"I..." Jo looked nervous, glancing over her shoulder and biting her lip. "I want to show you guys something." 

Cas, Sam and Ash exchanged curious glances. Jo tipped her head toward the hallway and all three followed her to Ellen's office.

"This is what has my mom so upset." Jo handed them a contract and a thick file of accounting forms.

Ash made himself at home on the computer. Sam took the contract and Cas took the accounting file.

"None of it means squat to me,” Jo frowned. But the contract has her really upset. And she keeps going over that file.” 

"Fergus M. Crowley has a nicely hidden record," Ash piped in.

"A record? Like what?" Jo asked.

"Tax evasion. Laundering money. This guy is a piece of work."

"Was he in Illinois at one time?" Cas asked, now thinking he had heard Crowley's name on the news.

"Yep. Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska. Dude gets around."

"How are his records hidden?" Sam asked. "That can't be legal."

"This is..." Ash studied the screen. "This was done by a hacker. I can tell."

"So, we can turn him in!" Jo said, "Call Sheriff Mills!"

"No, no," Ash warned. "What I'm doing is in no way legal Jo. We can't just show her. I have to...let me dig around a little more."

Castiel was busy looking over the tax information in the file. The numbers were adding up, but something was off. "Jo, I need to see the year before's taxes and invoice log."

Jo began digging through the drawer and pulled out the file. "I gotta check on Dean. I think he is still passed out up front." 

She left and the three exchanged a quick look. "If Ellen comes in-" Cas started.

"I would piss my pants!" Sam laughed.

Ash laughed. 

All three slipped into nervous silence as they investigated. Cas kept referring back and forth. He wanted to go back another year. Two years. Everything looked good to go on the form, but something was off.

"How do you even know what you're looking at?" Jo asked over his shoulder.

"I only need one more year of college until I have a degree in accounting. I'm very familiar with how to do these forms."

"Well, alrighty then." Jo patted his back.

An hour later, Ash said there was no more he could do from Ellen's computer and disappeared.

Sam had a list of questions to check on and Cas had to give the files back. He could look again the next time he worked night shift. 

Jo locked the office and helped Sam and Cas get Dean to the car.

Dean was barely functional. He helped move his legs a few times, but other than that, Sam and Cas carried his drunk form and got him into the backseat of his own car.

Sam got in the driver's seat and Cas hesitated.

"Where's your car?" Sam asked, looking around the empty lot.

"I don't have one," Cas said.

"Oh. You want a ride?"

Cas looked toward the road. "Where are you taking him? To Lisa's?"

"God, no!" Sam laughed. "He has his own place." Sam's shoulders drooped. "I'm never gonna make it up all those steps by myself. Cas, you can crash at Dean's with me, if you want? I know it's a hassle and he's a jerk sometimes, but..."

"He's your brother," Cas nodded. "Yeah, I'll help."

"Awesome," he blew out a breath. "Ride in back and make sure he doesn't puke."

Cas rolled his eyes and got in the back seat. Dean was in an upright position, head hanging back on the back dash and mouth hanging open. 

Cas groaned as Dean's rubber-like body slid over as Sam went around a corner. Cas steadied him up against himself. As Sam turned the opposite direction, when Dean would have flopped away from him, he gently steadied Dean's head with his arm. Dean groaned ominously.

"We'll be there soon," Sam called back, seeing Cas' look of worry. "Do NOT let him puke in the car. I will never hear the end of it."

"No problem," Cas said, struggling to keep Dean's head from flopping again. He rearranged both of them so Dean's head was on his chest. "You owe me so big for this, Sam."

Sam looked in the rearview mirror and laughed. "Oh, I don't know, you two look pretty cozy."

One of Dean's hands came up, groping randomly and coming to rest extremely close to Cas' crotch.

"Okay," Cas snapped, grabbing Dean's hand and moving it over to Dean’s own lap.

Dean groaned and started pulling away. 

"Sam, pull over!"

Sam did and it was all Cas could do to help Dean out so he could puke along the edge of the road.

Dean heaved and trembled. When he seemed done, Cas put a hand on his shoulder. "You okay?"

Dean staggered back a step, looking up at him. "Hey there angel! You here to fly me home?" He laughed and staggered another step back.

"Yes, Dean. Come on." Dean let him guide him into the back seat again.

"Hi Sam!" Dean laughed, getting in.

"Hi Dean," Sam said, less amused.

"Lookie what I found, Sammy! Our very own angel! With an angel name and a big trench coat! Who knew!" He laughed, "Angels in trench coats!"

Sam was rolling again and Dean kept up his list of everything he now knew about angels. Every turn made Dean tip over and giggle anew. Finally, the car came to a stop and Sam blew out a breath. "We're here."

"Hey Cas," Dean giggled, staggering slowly up the steps with him. "Did you know that Castiel is angelican for blue eyed bad ass?” He turned, grinning and damn near tucking his nose under Cas’ ear. “Cuz that's you!"

"I had no idea," Cas panted, holding Dean while Sam unlocked the door. Dean's weight grew heavier as Sam struggled to find the right key. "So what does Sam mean in 'angelican'?"

Dean huffed a tired giggle, slouching heavily. "Means long-haired best brother ever."

Sam finally unlocked the door and turned to help, not sure where to grab Dean's sinking form.

"Just let me-" Cas said, hoisting Dean up and lifting him on one shoulder to carry him in. "Where do I put him?"

Sam laughed. "Uh...his bed, I guess."

Sam led him to a door, opening it and Cas laid Dean down as gently as he could.

"Don't wanna go ta Lis's!" Dean mumbled.

"You're not at Lisa's," Sam said, pulling his brother's shoes off. "You're home, Dean. In your own apartment."

Cas stepped back, giving the brothers a private moment. Dean's room was tiny with a chest of drawers next to a single bed. A guitar stood in the corner and the walls were covered in posters of bands. Everything was neat and clean. He stepped into the other room which was a kitchen/living room/dining room. The kitchen was a row of cabinets with a sink and stove. A small fridge stood at the end of the row, the door to the apartment beside it. Cas began looking for Tylenol and poured him a glass of water. He found another door, which turned out to be a large storage closet. The other door was to the bathroom. He looked in the medicine cabinet and found Tylenol, taking them to Dean.

"Here," he offered.

"He's too out of it," Sam said, looking down at Dean's fetal position.

Cas tilted his head slightly. "Lesson number one for going to college, Sam. Never drink without a full glass of water and Tylenol before you go to sleep."

Sam stood up and Cas took his place.

"Dean," he said firmly.

"Mmmm," Dean moaned.

"Sit up, Dean." Cas maneuvered him to where he wanted him. "Look at me, Dean.”

He waited until Dean could hold his eyes open and look at him. It took a lot of blinking and teetering, but Cas finally got him semi focused. "Swallow these," he said, putting a pill into Dean's mouth. He took Dean's hand and put it on the glass and helped him guide it to his mouth.

"Good," Cas said softly. "One more, Dean."

He put the second pill in his mouth, Dean watching him with dull fascination. As Cas' finger drug across Dean's lower lip, his eyes dilated and blinked. 

"Drink, Dean." 

He guided his hand with the glass up to his mouth again. Dean tipped it back, swallowing automatically. His green eyes were striated with brown tonight and they were following Cas' like a magnet.

"More?" Dean whispered.

Cas chuckled at the look of pure awe on Dean's face. "Yes. All of it, Dean."

Dean blinked but kept his eyes on Cas. Together they lifted the glass back to his mouth and he finished the drink.

"I might be sick," Dean said weakly.

"No," Cas said, smiling.

"No?" Dean asked, shocked that Cas had an answer to this.

"You can sleep now. Nothing but sleep."

Dean's eyes grew heavy and he slouched immediately.

 

Cas guided him onto his side and brought a trash can over beside him.

"Man, Cas! You're like a drunk whisperer!" Sam laughed.

"People are always suggestible. Drunk people are highly suggestible.”

Although Dean's living room was small, he had a comfy sectional that took up most of the space. Sam flopped on one section and Cas sat on the other.

"You okay staying here?" Sam yawned.

"Sure." Cas texted April. She had been texting him relentlessly for the past two hours. He told her where he was and turned his phone off, not wanting to read anymore from her. 

"That April?" Sam yawned.

"Yes. She is always demanding to know where I am and who I am with. I'm not used to such constraints."

Sam laughed. "Now you sound like Dean. Okay, you don't sound like him, but if he said shit all formal like you, yeah, that's him."

Cas sighed. He got onto his side and Sam threw him a blanket. He had to admit, Dean's apartment surprised him. It was very small, but it was well kept and orderly. Now that he thought about it, Dean cooked with order and a higher level of skill than just any burger slinger in a bar. Maybe the guy was not as one sided as he had thought.

He drifted off to sleep easily but woke a short while later to the sounds of puking. He sat up, seeing Sam was sound asleep. He went into the bathroom, finding Dean on his knees.

"Hey," Cas said softly.

"Aw," Dean moaned, looking up at him, his head dropping back down onto his arm on the bowl of the toilet.

Cas looked around, grabbing his toothbrush, wetting it and putting paste on it. He handed it to Dean and he took it. He sat on the toilet, leaning heavily onto the sink. He brushed slow and careful, taking deep breaths every now and then. "This is so stupid," Dean muttered.

Cas patted him on the back. "You'll be better by tomorrow."

"It is tomorrow," Dean panted.

"Yeah, I meant tomorrow tomorrow. You must have drunk a lot." When Dean gave him a pathetic look, Cas smiled.

"You're kinda a dick sometimes, aren't ya?" Dean scoffed.

"Yeah," Cas stifled a laugh. "I guess I can be."

"Yeah," Dean moaned, standing and spitting in the sink. "Me too."

Dean put his toothbrush in the cup on his sink and looked at Cas again. "How the hell did you end up in my apartment?"

"Sam asked for my help."

Dean nodded. He trudged back to his bed and Cas came a moment later with a glass of cool water and more Tylenol.

He handed Dean the pills. Dean looked at them in his palm, then looked up at Cas. "What, you not gonna feed them to me this time?"

Cas blushed and his mouth tried to work but no words would come.

Dean smirked. "Yeah, that was different."

"It got the job done," Cas said weakly. 

Their eyes met briefly, skirting away. Dean took the pills in his hand and swallowed them. Cas could not help but watch Dean's mouth on the cup.

Dean sighed and handed him the glass. He dropped heavily onto his bed. "Thanks, Cas, for helping. You didn't have to do anything at all." He was crashing. Almost asleep. Cas smirked. 

"You're welcome," he said. He wanted to pull the blanket up over Dean's shoulders and tuck him in, but he resisted the urge. As smashed as Dean had appeared earlier, he remembered Cas feeding him pills. Cas shivered at the memory of the feel of Dean's lips on his fingers.

He backed out of the room and laid down on the couch again. 

 

Cas woke later that morning to the smell of eggs and toast. He sat up, yawning widely and stretching. "Sam?"

"Yeah," Sam called cheerfully from the stove.

Sun shone in the windows bathing the room in a yellow glow.

Cas snuggled back down under the blanket, preferring more sleep to food.

What seemed like seconds later, Cas woke to the smell of coffee and the sound of Dean's voice.

"-yeah, we'll see," Dean was saying.

"Come on, Cas!" Sam laughed. “Wake up!”

Cas rubbed his eyes and sat up yawning. Their breakfast plates were empty. He must have slept longer than he thought. He knew he must look a wreck. Both brothers were watching him and grinning.

"What?" He mumbled.

“Mornin’ Sunshine!” Dean grinned.

Cas studied his face for a moment. There was no signs of pain or light sensitivity. “I’m surprised you’re even awake, let alone...chipper.”

Dean let a slow smile warm his expression. “Guess it was all that water and Tylenol.”

Cas felt himself blush slightly. Damnit.

"You want some coffee?" Dean asked.

"Yes. Please."

"See, pegged him as not only a coffee drinker, but a heavy coffee drinker. Am I right, Cas?"

"Yes," Cas managed flatly.

Dean stalked over, pajama bottoms slightly loose on his hips and t-shirt snug. Dean handed him a full cup of coffee, hot and steaming.

"Okay, and the other part?" Sam asked, watching both of them intently, while Cas just looked mildly confused.

"Black. But I think you are kinda moody with it," Dean said to him.

"Are you talking about how I drink my coffee?" Cas guessed.

"I am," Dean said confidently. "And I say you drink yours black most of the time." Dean's eyes seemed to penetrate his and then rove all over his body. "But you aren't so cut and dry. Sometimes you like sugar. Occasionally you like creamer when you are feeling like you want to be warm and cozy."

Cas' face grew suspicious as he watched Dean give his summary. "That is quite accurate, Dean," Cas said. "And a bit creepy."

Dean and Sam both laughed. And Cas nursed his mug reverently.

"It's just this weird thing Dean does. He watches people in restaurants and can predict how they take their coffee with frightening accuracy," Sam explained.

"It's a superpower," Dean said nonchalantly, making Cas laugh.

"I did it again," Dean marveled, watching Cas intently.

"Did what?" Cas asked.

"Made you laugh!" Dean said, cleaning up his dishes.

"I laugh," Cas said defensively.

"Not too often," Dean smirked.

Cas' brow furrowed and he went back to his coffee. The brothers cleaned up their dishes and Cas refused to eat any breakfast, saying he never ate breakfast. 

"So, you need a ride somewhere Cas?" Sam asked.

Cas thought carefully about how his day could go if he got a ride this morning. He thought about all he wanted to get done today. It was Monday and the Roadhouse was closed. He had wanted to shop on Saturday, but April kept him busy. The same happened Sunday. He was feeling a great need to get the things he was out of. And honestly, was thankful to sleep somewhere else. "I believe there is a thrift shop downtown. Maybe you could take me there. I can shop and walk back to April's from there."

"Thrift shop?" Dean asked. "Pegged you more for a trendy boutiquer."

"And here I was impressed by your coffee creamer skills," Cas said, feigning disappointment.

Dean smirked. "We can all go. I haven't been in there in a while."

 

Twenty minutes later, all three of them were milling about the store. Cas had a growing pile of shirts in his cart.

Dean wandered over and began going through them. "Are you getting a job I don't know about?" Dean asked. 

"No," Cas said, annoyance evident.

"Then get rid of the dress shirts." He watched as Dean pulled three button down shirts out of the pile and hung them on the rack next to him. 

"You do not need to help me."

"Uh, yeah, I think I do," Dean grinned, winking at him.

Cas was surprised by the change of mood in Dean. He was much more friendly. He was actually pretty funny, in a very sarcastic way, and when he gave Cas one on one attention, it kind of surprised him how much he liked it.

"Dude! You are getting this!" Dean pulled out a black Metallica t-shirt and put it on his pile.

"Dean, I do not even listen to Metallica," Cas scoffed pulling the shirt out.

"Dude. Everyone listens to Metallica. I'll find a song of theirs and you'll like it. Trust me." He snatched the shirt back and dropped it into the cart with a challenging glint in his eye.

"You are insufferable," Cas said, shaking his head.

"That's the word I was aiming for!" Dean snickered. "I woke up this morning and thought, 'today, I will be insufferable'!"

Cas tried not to laugh but seemed unable to stop himself from finding Dean funny.

Cas ended up with 4 shirts and 2 pairs of pajama pants. Dean ended up with a stack of CDs, 4 records, a shirt and a large suitcase for Sam to take to school.

They loaded their goodies in the car and Dean flopped behind the wheel. "Now where?"

Cas hesitated and Sam whipped around. "Didn't you say you need to shop for more stuff? Like at a Target or Wal-Mart?"

"I do," Cas said, "but you could drop me off."

"I got no where to be. And after this little trip, you and me are square for the whole holding my hair back while I puke episode."

"Which one?" Sam laughed.

"In my bathroom last night," Dean said, steering out onto the highway. 

"Oh, then you still owe him for stopping me JUST in time to get you out of the car," Sam said, obviously loving it.

"You mean I almost puked...in my baby?" Dean asked, glancing at Sam with anguish.

"Yeah."

Dean drove silently for a while, glancing back at Cas every now and then. "Thanks Cas," he finally said.

"Anytime," Cas grinned back. It amused Cas to see how much that thought had actually bugged him. Cas watched out the window, remembering Dean’s hand on his leg last night. Not to mention he had touched those tattoos. Not just looked at them, but felt the warm skin.

"Do you remember all the angel talk you were babbling?" Sam asked.

"What?" Dean snipped. "No. God. Maybe."

"My personal favorite," Sam continued, grinning at his brother's sigh and look of embarrassment, "was when you told us what our names were in 'angelican'."

"Uhhh," Dean moaned. He tossed a half embarrassed grin back at Castiel. 

"Blue-eyed bad-ass," Cas bragged, pointing a thumb back at his chest.

"God," Dean laughed.

In the fluorescent world of Wal-Mart, Cas loaded up on socks, boxer briefs and bathroom supplies. He also picked up a few groceries for April (who was quite pissed he wasn't home yet).

Sam and Dean got some supplies as well. Dean talked Cas into buying two more t-shirts, an old Atari t, and one with Gumby and Pokey. Cas got a pair of jeans as well. Dean gave him a lot of questioning looks as they shopped, but he kept his questions to himself.


	4. Closing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas gets company.  
> We get a closer look at Dean’s tattoos.  
> Crowley is back with a shiny new contract for Ellen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all who are reading and commenting! Thank you for all the Kudos!  
> A very special thanks to shellz, who is beta editing for me! You are WONDERFUL!

Chapter 4. Closing

 

Dean dropped Sam off at home, since they were out that way, and Cas moved up to the passenger seat. It was 1:00 in the afternoon and Dean was getting hungry. 

"Got time for lunch?"

Cas stammered briefly, "I really should get back to April's.”

Dean nodded. Cas was immediately quieter without Sam around.

"You sure? My treat. You saved my baby after all."

Cas grinned, but shook his head. Dean headed for the address he gave him and pulled up to a row of dodgey apartments.

"Thank you for the ride, Dean. It was a big help."

Dean nodded, catching a blur of reddish hair headed their way. "Uh oh."

Cas followed Dean's gaze, looking out the passenger window as April practically ran up to it. She stood there waiting for him to open the door, which he did.

"That took a lot longer than I expected it to," she said with a tight smile.

Cas continued to pick up his bags from the back seat. "I needed a lot of things."

"We could have gone together. Later."

Dean got out and went around to the trunk where his thrift shop bag was. He handed Cas the bag, shutting the trunk.

"Oh shit," Dean heard Cas say, which grabbed his attention because the guy rarely swore. 

"What?" Dean asked.

Cas was looking ten kinds of uncomfortable as a sports car pulled to a stop next to Dean. The window ran down and music poured from the vehicle. "Cassie! Baby! Give me some sugar!"

Dean gave the guy a look like he must have lost his mind.

"Hello, Gabriel. What are you doing here?" Cas said, leaning down to the window.

"Well shit, my baby brother calls after almost a fucking year of being missing and yeah Castiel, I'm gonna come runnin'."

The humor had drained out of the man's face and Cas looked worried.

Dean had the oddest sensation. This was not his mess. It had absolutely nothing to do with him. And yet, he could not walk away. Something strange was going on with this Cas. Why was he missing from his own brother for a year? Was his brother a good guy or did he need his ass kicked? And April...yeah, Dean could not say exactly why, but he did not like her. There was something about her he did not trust. He had always had a pretty good snap-judgement of character. And yeah, Cas was proving to be difficult, but the rest of the world was at his mercy. He was not leaving Cas with either one of these two.

"Hey," Dean butted in, not even caring, "Cas and I were just going out to lunch. Want to come?"

"Sure," Gabriel sighed. 

April looked beyond annoyed, but agreed to go.

At first, Cas looked at him with open confusion. But he caught on quickly and ran with the plan.

Three separate cars pulled into the Biggerson's restaurant. April and Cas got out of her little yellow Civic and Gabriel parked his bright red Mustang GT next to Dean's baby. 

April and Gabriel went through the doors first. Cas quickly turned to Dean, eyebrows tented and eyes so blue it brought Dean up short. "What are you-"

"Safety in numbers, man," Dean mumbled, April already turning to watch them. "I'll go if you want, but-"

"No. Stay. Thank you."

They were seated at a table. Dean tried to tap down his annoyance with how clingy April was with Cas. She sat next to him at the table. Dean sat across from Cas and next to his brother, Gabe. They ordered their drinks before the waitress even left. 

"So, Cassie," Gabriel said, leaning forward and tenting his fingers. "What the fuck are you doing in Fremont, Nebraska?"

Cas swallowed and fidgeted with a straw wrapper. "It was as far as I made it from Illinois to you."

Gabriel immediately softened and relaxed, hands dropping to the table. "You were coming to Denver?"

"Yes," Cas answered shyly.

"Aw. You can stay with me any time, little bro."

"Thank you, Gabriel. I ran out of money in Omaha. I started hitch-hiking and...things did not go easily from there. I met April and she took me in."

A whole new level of understanding clicked in Dean's mind. Cas wasn't just down on his luck or struggling. He had been homeless. And that explained his devotion to April. And his sense of owing her so much.

"Very kind of you, April. Thank you for being there for my brother. If there is anything you need, just ask."

"No, no. Just Castiel. He has been a God-send, really." 

Her sweetness made Dean want to gag. One quick glance at Gabe said he felt the same way.

They ordered food and April got up to use the restroom.

Gabriel leaned forward in a loud whisper. "What's up with the chick?"

Castiel glared. "We met and we...got along. She was so kind to take me in when I had no one."

"Hey, you always have me, kid," Gabriel swore, exchanging a challenging look.

"I told you, I did not want to call you. I thought Mother would find a way to get to me." 

Dean could not help but follow the pair like a tennis match.

"Mother can take a long walk off a short pier," Gabriel scowled. "So...is April a friend? Or are ya tappin' that?" 

"Gabriel!" Castiel fussed, glancing around.

"So, you are! What the hell? You tryin' to change your stripes or what, bro?"

Cas threw Dean a nervous glance.

"What?" Gabriel pushed. "You lost everything...for nothing? You switching teams on me? Or is this just experimenting?"

"No," Castiel hissed. "This is temporary. I just needed help. Then things just got...tangled."

"Help is here," Gabriel held his hands out, one eyebrow raised. "The welcome wagon has arrived. Pack your shit and let's leave for Denver."

"No, I have a job," Castiel argued.

April came back to the table and the brothers clammed up. Dean took a drink and let the coded conversation sink in. 'Switching teams', 'experimenting'? Was Cas gay? Was he bi? Or were they talking about something else entirely? And he seemed to be avoiding his mother. And he had been homeless. All alone. So alone that he had moved in with this weird chick. He eyed Cas suspiciously. Why would a grown adult run from their mother? No matter what the answers were, Cas had recently been in a world of hurt. The new clothes and supplies he had bought were necessities. Cas looked calm on the outside, but Dean suspected the guy was freaking on the inside. Again, he had the pull to want to help the guy out.

"Cas," Dean said, "If you ever need a ride, you let me know."

Cas smiled faintly.

"He doesn't need rides," April smiled, "I take him wherever he needs to go."

"He walks home in the middle of the night," Dean sniped.

"He wants to," April assured them.

Dean was NOT assured. He was SURE this bitch was hiding something. 

"Dean," Cas said, warningly.

Dean held his hands up and looked away.

"Castiel and I are doing quite well, actually," April smiled. "We don't need any help from either of you."

"April," Cas said patiently, "I am moving out as soon as I am able to afford it. It should only be another two weeks."

"And that is just not necessary," she grinned, anger flickering in her eyes in contrast to her calm exterior. 

Gabriel had a crooked grin on his face and Castiel would not meet his eyes. Dean wondered what the hell was going on. 

They ate their meal quickly with a lot of furtive glances. 

"So, Dean," Gabriel said, "What's with all the ink? What's going on with this chick?" He asked, pointing to the pale woman on his forearm. He wasn't being judgmental. He seemed to be trying to change the subject, if anything.

Dean cleared his throat. "When I was a kid, I was obsessed with monsters. I watched every horror movie I could get my hands on. Actually researched. Told my dad I was going to be a monster hunter when I grew up." He couldn't help but grin at the memories of he and his dad and Sam going on 'monster hunts'. "One time, my dad took my brother Sam and me for a, what I thought was real, monster hunt. We went camping and 'tracked' footprints and..." Dean laughed, shaking his head, "Anyway, his friend Bobby snuck up on us in the middle of the night and scared me so bad."

Gabe and Cas smiled, April looked unimpressed.

Dean laughed, "What Bobby did not count on was that I slept with a knife under my pillow. Sam too, cause I had him so convinced a Wendigo was in those woods that neither of us were sleeping much at all. Stabbed Bobby in the arm. Taught him not mess with a hunter," Dean nodded mocking seriousness.

"You stabbed a guy? How old were you?" Gabe asked, laughing.

"Like eleven. Too old to be playing. Too young to be handling real weapons. Yeah, I got in big trouble. But Bobby was okay. Still messes with me about it though."

"So, she's a ghost?" Cas asked, his eyes on his forearm.

"Yes," Dean said, twisting his arm so they could see her better. "A lady in white. They haunt lakes usually. She lures people in and drowns them."

"And you could hunt her?" Cas asked, his eyes curious. His question was neither mocking nor judgmental, so Dean went on a little further.

"You find their body. Their bones. You pour salt on them and burn them. It breaks the earthly bond, the spirit gets pulled into the veil."

"Wow," Gabe grinned. "You were serious."

"I was obsessed," Dean laughed. "Anyway, these are all monsters and demons I tried hunting. It was kinda a way of coping.” Dean hesitated before going on. But he was jumping right into these people’s business, so he might as well share a little. Anyone from town knew the story anyway. “When I was around six, Bobby and his wife, Karen, took me to the fair. We were walking back to his car. It was late at night, after the fireworks were over. Anyway, a guy jumped us in the parking area.” He swallowed hard at the memory. “It was a mugging gone bad. He hit Bobby with a tire iron. Knocked him out. And he killed Karen. Took their wallets and ran. I had hid by a car. It...uh...kinda messed me up for a while. I just knew it was a monster, ya know? A person wouldn’t do something like that. So, I was gonna be a monster hunter. I was gonna catch it and kill it." He shrugged his shoulders, feeling the familiar heat of embarrassment on his cheeks. “I never wanted to get caught hiding from monsters again. So...hunting them turned into my thing.”

He didn’t have to look at their faces to know what they would look like. Pity.

“So...don’t fuck with Dean in a dark alley,” Gabe grinned.

Dean laughed. “Right.”

“I’m so sorry that happened, Dean,” Cas said quietly, still looking at his tattoos.

“Eh, life’s a bitch,” Dean shrugged.

“Is Bobby a friend of Ellen’s too?” Cas asked. “Baseball cap, beard, vest?”

“Yeah. Ellen and Bobby are both like family to us,” Dean clarified. He watched as Cas studied his arms openly. A warmth flushed his face.

"And when did you learn who the real monsters are?" Cas asked him.

Dean drug a heavy breath through his lungs, unable to pull away from those blue eyes this time. The color was so...pure blue. He wondered if he could find an ink that would convey the right shade of blue. 

"The real monsters?" Dean stammered, bringing himself back to the table. "Yeah, middle school."

Cas smiled sadly. "It's rather disappointing, isn't it?" Cas said.

"Oh yeah. Brutal." Dean nodded, taking a drink.

"What do you mean?" April asked. "Monsters are stupid movie characters."

"The real monster," Cas explained, "is you. Me. People."

"That's not true," she said dismissively.

Cas and Dean exchanged a brief but knowing look. People were the monsters.

 

They drove back to April's and Dean decided to leave. It was obvious that Cas and Gabe needed to talk. And he needed some space from Cas. The guy was intense sometimes. And Dean just wasn't sure how he felt about it. One thing was for sure. There was more to those blue eyes than their intoxicating color.

 

================

 

"Look, I gotta head back home," Gabriel said quietly. "I'll be back in a few days."

"You do not need to do that," Cas insisted.

Gabriel fixed him with a stern look. "I will be back. If you want to come home with me, you can. If you want me to help get you set up in your own place, I can help. Either way, this," he said, pointing toward April in her apartment, "needs to be fixed."

Cas rolled his eyes. "I'm handling it."

Gabriel accepted the plea with a thin smile. "See you in a few days, bro. And...Cassie, don’t ever disappear on me again."

Cas looked down guiltily. “I’m so sorry, Gabriel. It was selfish and...foolish. I made a lot of bad decisions during that time. Gabe...I’m in a lot of trouble.”

Gabe nodded. “I know. Well, I know Mom dumped your school bills on you in one big heap, had you thrown out of school, and...yeah, that’s what I know.”

“I just...ran away,” Cas admitted, ashamed of himself. “I just left it all. I have a mountain of a bills with bill collectors hunting me. I can not seem to get on my feet again. And now this April is smothering me. In fact, I think she’s sabotaging me from getting anywhere.”

“Then leave with me! You don’t owe this town anything! And you don’t owe her either!”

“But-“

“What? She took you in? Off the street?”

“Yes!”

“Gave you food and a roof!”

“Yes!”

“And...and I still don’t get this one, you SLEPT with her?” Gabe flailed, yelling.

“Shhh!” Cas waved him down. “She might hear you!”

“Castiel,” Gabe said sternly, stepping toward him as only a big brother can, “you do not owe her anything. I will pay her for her ‘kindness’. But whatever is going on between the two of you now? It’s not healthy.”

Cas sighed. “Alright.”

Gabe relaxed back into his more typical self. “What other trouble are you in?”

Cas’ shoulders slouched. “I got into some trouble in Kansas City. I...was arrested and went to jail for three months for drug charges.”

“WHAT?”

“It wasn’t me. I was hitchhiking and the car got pulled over. The police found drugs and we all were sentenced.”

Gabe paced away, one hand on his waist and the other covering his mouth. He circled back to Cas, his cheeks redder and his countenance severe. “You got arrested, wrongly arrested, and didn’t call ME?”

Cas sighed again. “I was in the car. It was my stupid decisions that got me there. It was my stupid choices. I should have called you the day I left school. I wish I had, Gabriel.” He closed his eyes, remembering lonely bus rides, walking for days, hitchhiking with questionable people, sleeping on the streets, days in shelters. “I thought...if I could at least get myself to you, on my own, that, that, that I wasn’t worthless, or hopeless, or a complete failure.”

“Cassie!” Gabe hugged him tight. “You aren’t ANY of those things! God!” He held Cas’ shoulders, looking at him with a whole new level of worry. “What the hell did Mom say to you? Ya know what? It doesn’t matter. Whatever it was, she was so, so wrong. You are a good person, Cassie!”

Cas looked away, fighting the urge to melt into him and cry. He nodded. He knew what Gabriel was saying was true. But he had been so angry. He wanted nothing to do with his family after that horrible day at school. And Gabriel had never deserved to be lumped in with them.

“Like I said,” Cas went on quietly, “I wish I had called you. A million times. It just seemed the worse things went, the more I deserved it. But I know that isn’t true. But...I need to get out of this myself. April...the job here. I can fix this much on my own. Then I will be coming to Denver. I promise.”

Gabe grinned, finally letting him go. He looked away, biting his lip. “I’ll look into the mess in Kansas City. And the school loans. I’ll see what I can do. And DON’T tell me not to. It’s my fucking right as your brother.”

Cas nodded. “Thank you.”

Gabe hugged him again. “I can’t believe you were in jail! You! It’s like putting a nun in jail!”

Cas grinned crookedly, hugging him back.

Gabe took a step back, sliding sunglasses on. “Get your shit dealt with here, Cassie. Love ya.”

“Love you too, Gabe.”

Castiel watched the red car zip away. Like a robot, he turned and headed back inside to deal with the aftermath that was April.

 

By the time Castiel got to work the next day, his mood was foul. He had been round and round with April. She insisted that he should stay with her and he assured her that he would be leaving. Their relationship had morphed into something more than what he wanted now. No matter how many times he told her, she was not hearing him.   
His first paycheck was about gone already. But he had tucked some away to try to save it. Her blindness to the things he was saying was becoming disturbing. 

"Hey Cas," Sam said jovially.

"Hello, Sam," Cas said, heading for the sink.

"Hey, Cas," Dean said, tying on his apron to start working.

"Hello, Dean," Cas grinned shyly. 

Dean walked towards him, stopping with a table between them. "Gabe still in town?"

"No.” He started filling the sink, having trouble making eye contact with Dean.

"You want a ride home tonight?"

"No, thank you," Cas frowned. "I do prefer to walk."

Dean nodded. "You need anything, you just let Sam or me know, alright?"

Cas closed his eyes and prepared a tirade of 'I don't need help', when Ash burst through the bar door. "That Crowley's back!" Ash continued through the kitchen, peeking down the hall to Ellen's closed office door.

Cas and Sam exchanged a look and followed Ash into the hallway.

"What are you guys doing?" Dean half whispered.

"Shh!" They all shushed him. 

They crowded up to the door, listening.

"This is bullshit, Crowley," Ellen said.

"This is business. It's easy to confuse the two, I know," he patronized.

"This contract says 51% of the business would be yours! We are not partners, Crowley! You work for me. And frankly, I think that needs to end as well."

"Now, now," Crowley cooed. "I bring you hope for a new day, Ellen. A mere offering. It doesn't mean you have to sign it. Now, if you did sign it, aaalllll your financial troubles would be answered. It's something to consider, don't you think?"

Silence fell on the office and the hall. Sam gave Ash and Cas a panic-stricken look, "She shouldn't sign that!" 

Cas reached around Sam and turned the doorknob. The door opened and the three of them spilled into the room. 

"Don't sign that!" Sam blurted.

Ellen, who sat behind her desk with her arms crossed over her chest, looked away from the contract and pen lying open for her signature.

"What the hell?" Ellen snapped.

"Sorry!" Sam and Cas said quickly. 

"I'm not signin' anything," Ellen spat.

Crowley, standing in front of the desk, schooled a look of irritation off his face.

"Get out of here," Ellen shooed.

Crowley raised his chin, giving the guys a threatening sideways glance.

"You too, Fergus," Ellen said.

"I'll be back on Friday. If that contract is not signed, we move forward with the foreclosure." 

"Three days ago you said I had a month!" She argued.

"Time is of the essence. Friday." He turned quickly and made his way out the hall and out the back door.

"I'm sorry, Ellen," Sam said, "It's just that...well...we've been worried about you and the Roadhouse."

Ellen looked mad as a viper.

"Ellen," Cas said, trying to help Sam from losing a head, "Jo is very worried about you. She asked us to look at some things. Regarding Crowley, he is tampering with your books."

"And that contract you two have is full of really tricky loopholes. Please, Ellen, don't sign that yet."

"You need a lawyer," Cas added.

Ellen's mouth hung open by this point. "You went through my things?"

Cas and Sam gave each other a guilty look. Ash had disappeared and Dean stood just inside the door looking confused.

"Jo asked us to," Sam explained. "I took some notes on the contract you two have and I am asking for some help with it."

"My brother is a lawyer, Ellen," Cas offered, taking a step back. "I would like to ask him to help with this, if you would be okay with it."

Ellen glared at all of them. "Get out of my office," she said quietly.

Like beaten puppies, Sam, Cas, and Dean exited, heading for the kitchen.

"What the hell is going on?" Dean asked.

"Jo asked us to look at Ellen's contract and accounting paperwork," Sam explained. "We did, and that Crowley is a grade A dirtbag."

Dean looked at Cas. Cas nodded, agreeing with Sam.

"I always thought Crowley was a douchebag," Dean admitted.

"More like the devil," Sam frowned. "Dean, she might lose the Roadhouse. And worse, she might lose it to Crowley. We need to do something."

"Alright, Sam," Dean said, nodding. “But we should talk about it later.”

Lisa came in with tickets for the turn-style, glaring at Dean.

"Yikes," Sam said when she left.

"Yeah. Don't date coworkers," Dean said, snatching the ticket and going to work. “Apparently it IS a good rule.”

"Not likely," Sam said.

"Aw, come on, you could go out with Meg," Dean laughed.

"No, thanks," Sam laughed.

"How bout you, Cas?" Dean said, flipping burgers.

"No," Cas stated definitively.

"I hear ya.” He turned to Sam. “I'd date Cas before I'd date Meg," Dean laughed.

Cas felt a blush run up his neck and face. He kept his eyes on his sink of dishes, saying nothing.

Sam laughed. "Okay, kiss, fuck, kill! Go, Dean!"  
"That's not fair," Dean groused. "Already kissed and fucked Lisa."

Cas could feel his blush deepening.

"No Lisa for you. Go!" Sam laughed, taking the plates of burgers to plate.

"Fine...uh, Jo, uh...shit, scratch that, Meg, Jo, Crowley."

Cas grinned at that.

"Gross," Sam laughed.

"Oh yeah? Your turn Sam!" Dean laughed.

"Okay...Jo, Cas, Rufus."

"Dude! What did Rufus ever do to you?" Dean laughed.

"Dude's a grouch. And Crowley doesn't work here."

Cas was a bit surprised by Sam's answer, glancing at him and seeing a red glow about his cheeks. Dean did not seem surprised, which made Cas wonder. Cas had wondered if Sam was gay, but had not asked.

"Alright," Dean grinned, "Cas! Your turn."

Cas knew the game. Gabriel played it at any given second in the most random of places, including family dinners.

He glanced at the brothers. Should he be honest? Or should he just say whatever?

"Jo,...Dean, Meg."

Dean whipped around, his green eyes wide as tennis balls. "What?"

Sam laughed so hard he doubled over. "Cas! You freakin' kill me!"

"What the fuck, man?" Dean said seriously.

"It's just a game, Dean," Cas grinned.

"Huh," Dean said, his gaze traveling down Cas briefly. "Alright."

"What?" Meg said, walking in on the look between Dean and Cas. 

Dean turned back to her, taking the ticket in her hand. "Coworkers- kiss, fuck, kill. Go."

"Mmm. Sammy, Cas, Ash."

Sam smirked, Cas shook his head, and Dean laughed. 

"What," he said to Cas, "finding out you're gettin fucked is a little shocking, isn't it?"

"And who is our little angel fucking?" Meg purred. "Let me guess...Jo."

Sam snorted and Dean glared at him.

"Nope," Sam grinned.

"Me?" She said, staring at Cas.

"No," Sam laughed.

She pouted. "Lisa? Ellen? Really?"

"He wouldn't say," Dean said.

Meg's eyes slid from Dean to Cas. "Oh. I see. Another Dean Winchester fan."

"My options were limited," Cas said, sure his blush would cause permanent skin damage. 

She laughed evilly as Lisa walked in.

"What?" Lisa sniped.

"Oh, nothing. Just harassing the boys," Meg said, winking at Dean.

Lisa rolled her eyes, taking the plates and leaving. 

Ash walked in, looking sheepish.

"Where'd you disappear to?" Sam asked, annoyed.

"Had to go look something up," Ash said.

"So, Ash," Meg said, eyeing him. "Coworkers- kiss, fuck, kill. Your turn."

"Mmm," Ash scanned the room quickly, "Jo, Dean, Meg."

"Hey!" Meg whined.

"What the hell?" Dean said.

"That's what Cas said!" Sam roared laughing.

"My man!" Ash laughed, giving Cas a thumbs-up. 

Cas grinned, wishing he would have just said something else. And that the floor would open up and swallow him.

"Well damn," Dean scoffed, "I might have to redo my answers."

"Oh my God," Sam laughed. “That’ll be the day!”

"Glad to see everyone is having such a good night," Ellen's voice cut through the commotion.

Dean pointed his spatula at her. "Yeah, well, when break time comes, don't look for me, Ash or Cas in the break room closet." He turned back to the grill, blushing. “You might be shocked by what you see.”

Sam melted into a fit of laughter, something along the lines of 'you're killing me' coming out in high-pitched crooning.

"I'm not even asking," Ellen said. "Sam, Cas, Ash, can I see you in my office?"

Cas dried off his hands as Sam attempted to pull himself together. Ash headed back, laptop in hands.

With the office door closing, Ellen cleared her throat. "Sorry for being such a bitch lately." She sat behind her desk. "I'm ready to listen to what you all have to say."

Cas started, since the other two looked nervous. "I looked at the past two year's taxes and invoices. All the numbers add up, but something is off. If I could go back several more years, before Crowley's involvement, even, I may be able to find something."

"You're a sweet kid, Cas. What makes you think you can do this?" Ellen asked.

"After one more year of school, I will have an accounting degree."

Ellen looked surprised. "Well...that's handy, isn't it." She narrowed her eyes at him. “That wasn’t on your application either.”

Cas pressed his mouth together, looking down. There was a lot not on his application.

"Cas, did you say your brother is a lawyer?" Sam asked.

"Yes."

Sam gave Ellen a nervous look. "Ellen, I don't know much, but several things in your current contract raised red flags to me."

"Yeah. You're right there," she agreed.

"If your brother could just answer some questions for me," Sam said, "It could move things along."

"Absolutely, if it is okay with you, Ellen."

She thought a moment and nodded. "Yeah. I think that's a good idea."

Cas texted Gabriel right then and there. "He'll be here in a few days."

"Okay," Ellen smiled.

"Ash?" She asked.

"I have some information," he said cryptically.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Thank you Sam and Cas. That will be all for now."

Sam and Cas exchanged a look, realizing they were being dismissed, so they left, closing Ash in with Ellen.

They went back into the kitchen and Dean was scrambling with orders. Cas and Sam jumped in to help catch him up, then Cas went back to his stack of never-ending dishes.

The mood had sobered. Cas wanted to help Ellen. The Roadhouse had been good to him so far. He felt a bit of loyalty to the place.

The evening flew by, Ash never returning. Ellen went back out to the bar, but looked a lot lighter, her smiles easier.

As the crowd died down and clean up was about done, Ellen came into the kitchen. "Boys, a round of drinks on me.”

They all nodded thankfully, waiting for Meg and Lisa to leave before going out to the bar and sitting down.

"What can I get you?" Ellen asked.

"Whiskey," Dean grinned.

"Coors," Sam said.

"Whiskey," Cas added.

Ellen poured herself a shot of Crown Royal. "To maybe getting some sleep tonight!" Ellen said, tossing back.

Cas thought about going back to April's. He would not be getting any sleep. He refused to share her bed for the past three weeks. Things were getting more and more tense. 'To needing this to get through the night' Cas thought sadly, tossing back his whiskey without a flinch.

And to make his life more complicated, he had dropped a bombshell on Dean. Sam thought it was completely a joke. Maybe Dean did as well. He had even joked back, including Ash, so who knew how he had taken that statement. Damn people and their games. 

Gabriel would be able to help Ellen surely, but having him around only added another layer of possible problems.

They went their separate ways after their drink, Ellen, Dean and Sam heading home, while Cas dug deep to get through his night shift. Followed by another uncomfortable night at April's.


	5. Overtime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More dirt on Crowley, Cas puts his foot down, and Dean is all over the map.

Chapter 5. Overtime

Cas shoved the last of the t-shirts he could find into his duffel bag. 

"You have no where to go, Castiel," April said with heat and malice in her voice.

"My brother is coming to get me, April. I will be going to Denver," he said for the millionth time. He had thought he could make it two weeks at April’s. But that was never going to happen. He couldn’t wait another second. Not after he found some of his new boxers in the kitchen trash. Cut up.

He went into the bathroom and put all his things into a plastic bag, adding it quickly to the duffel bag, which he kept clutched in one hand so that she could not get it and empty it again.

"What if I'm pregnant," she said, blocking the bathroom doorway.

He sighed heavily. "April, we had sex exactly two times. In the same night. The condoms did not break. You are not pregnant."

"But I could be! These things happen!"

With his luck, she was, he thought bitterly. 

"Then call me. After a paternity test, I would do anything in my power to be a good parent. But you are not pregnant. So I won't need to be." He pushed past her, making a straight line for the door.

"So you use me and leave me?" She said, voice brittle and tears sliding down her face.

He turned to her with one hand pulling the front door open. 

"I will send you compensation pay, if you want. But April, I'm not staying. You and I are through. We never really were anything. I thank you for your kindness when I was down."

"You are still lost Castiel. You have no money, no place to live, no family, no friends. Just me!"

He stepped through the door, pulling her clenched hand off his sleeve. "I do have friends. I do have family. Now, let me go!"

She glared hatefully. "You'll be sorry, Castiel. No one will ever love you like me. I am the only one who understands you!"

Castiel walked away, knowing he would never go back. April had seemed like such a nice girl. And he had been in a very bad place when they met. But looking back on it, he realized he had stepped into a trap. She was an overbearing, jealous, mean person. While she did take him in, she sabotaged steps he took to improve himself. Anything was better than staying with her. Including what he was about to do.

He walked the mile to the Roadhouse, quietly stowing his bag in the supply room. He had no where to go, except the Roadhouse. He needed his job. It was the highlight of his sad life right now. He went into the kitchen and sat at the work table.

"Hi Cas," Jo said. "You're early, aren't you?"

"I am." He sat down with a soda and rubbed at his forehead.

"Everything okay?" She asked, prepping plates and chopping lettuce for salads and burgers. 

"Yes," he said, not really wanting to talk about it.

Jo nodded, moving on to tomatoes. 

A warm hand rested on his shoulder. "You alright?"

Cas' hopes drained a bit when he recognized Sam's voice.

"I'm good, Sam."

Sam gave him a disbelieving smile, but said nothing, moving on to pick on Jo.

The evening went quick. Soon everyone was gone and he finished his night shift duties in a daze.

In the supply room, he curled up on the floor against his duffel bag. He would have to be gone before Ellen came back the next afternoon. 

It was better than being outside. And he was exhausted enough to actually fall asleep. He would have slept better if there had not been odd noises outside that would startle him awake. 

At 7am, Cas woke to the sounds of voices out front. He jumped to his feet, bleary eyed and confused. Perhaps Ellen came in earlier in the day than he thought. He grabbed his duffel bag and slipped out the back door, straight into the awaiting police officer.

 

=================

 

Dean was more than annoyed at the 6:30 wake up call from Ellen. The police had called her with a report that there was suspicious activity at the Roadhouse. She did not want to show up with Jo, so she asked Dean to head over to check things out.

He was dressed and that was about it. He pulled into the parking lot where two cruisers sat with their lights blinking. Ellen was just heading in the front door, accompanied by Sheriff Mills. Another cop stood by the cars while another came from the back with someone.

Dean walked toward the scene, wondering why Castiel was with a cop. 

Cas looked confused, disheveled, and defeated.

Dean watched as the cop had Cas stand at the police car.

"Why were you trespassing?" The cop asked him harshly.

"I was-"

Dean noticed the familiar duffel bag. It was full. Maybe April had kicked him out.

"I fell asleep in the supply room," Cas said quietly.

"And vandalized the property?" The cop pressed.

"No! I would never do that!" Cas exclaimed, looking at the Roadhouse in concern.

Dean looked as well. There were big frowning faces spray painted along the side of the building. Ellen and Jody Mills came back out the front door.

"Nothing seems out of place inside," sheriff Mills said, approaching the pair.

Dean made a beeline for Ellen. "What happened Ellen?"

Ellen shrugged. "Got a call that there was a report of suspicious activity at the Roadhouse. Someone saw a man spray painting the building and breaking in. Nothing is out of place inside, but Cas was caught coming out the back door when we went in the front."

Dean turned back to the two cops questioning Cas.

"So you have no address?" One asked suspiciously.

It all clicked in Dean's mind. He and April must have broken up. She kicked him out and he slept at the Roadhouse. Stubborn bastard. 

Dean stepped forward. "He's staying at my place," Dean clarified. "He just broke up with his girlfriend and he was supposed to come stay with me. I fell asleep and forgot to come pick him up. Sorry, Cas," he said, hoping Cas would catch on.

His mouth opened and closed once, his eyes squinting in concern.

"Sorry for the confusion officer, but there is no way Cas vandalized the Roadhouse," Dean said vehemently. "Ellen?"

Ellen shook her head no, relaying that that did not fit.

"Did you spray paint out here?" Mills asked.

"No, ma'am," Cas said, eyebrows raising in fear.

"Did you sleep here?" She pressed.

"I did...I'm sorry," he said, looking at Ellen embarrassed.

"Come on," Dean said, unable to watch Cas be questioned like this. "You got the wrong guy! He was supposed to be at my place, I fell asleep and forgot to pick him up. It was an accident."

Sheriff Mills gave him a look of 'alright'.

"In fact," Dean wondered out loud, "who called in the 'suspicious activity'?"

"Anonymous," the other officer said.

"Were they female?" Dean asked.

The officer looked hesitantly to Jody, who nodded to go on. "Yes. Why?"

"It's probably April," Dean said to Cas.

Cas looked at him for the first time. Worry slid from his face as frustration set a hard line to his mouth. "Most likely. My ex-girlfriend, April Kelly. She was very angry I was moving out. She may have set me up to look like the vandal."

Jody looked less than convinced.

"Look, I know my employees," Ellen said, stepping forward. "I know it wasn't Cas. Look at his hands, his clothes. He had those clothes on last night. There's no paint on him anywhere. I bet if you check this April Kelly's clothes or car you will find some spray paint. And I plan on pressing charges."

Jody nodded. "You have an address for this April Kelly?"

"Yes," Cas said, telling her the address. "If you want to question her now, she is sitting in that yellow Honda Civic just down the block." Cas pointed a block over to a yellow car parked along a parallel road. 

Jody looked and the car immediately drove away. "Well, that was her," Cas said, looking tired.

"We'll let you know what we find out, Ellen," Jody said. "In the meantime, where can you be reached?" She asked Cas.

"Uh, at the Roadhouse," he said.

"You don't have a cell?" She asked.

"No."

"You can find him at my place and you can have my cell number," Dean added. He could feel those blue eyes watching him, but Dean refused to look at him. The guy sucked at asking for help. He needed some help. Dean would be damned if he let Cas be drug down by that freaky April.

After a few more minutes of standing around with the police, Jody told them they could go.

Dean finally turned fully to Cas. "Is that all your stuff?"

"Yes," Cas said, hoisting the bag onto his shoulder. 

"Come on," he said, walking back to the Impala. He was relieved that Cas followed easily. 

They got into the car and Dean headed for his apartment. Silence hung in the air.

"Cas, you could have called me, man."

Cas' eyes were locked onto his own hands.

"I didn't want to bother you. We don't even know each other that well."

"Yeah, well now we have that whole 'hey, remember the time we lied to the cops' thing. So..."

Cas snorted a laugh, looking out the window. "Are we really going to your place?"

"Yeah," Dean said, stopping at a red light and glancing at him. "I hope what I said was okay. About April."

Cas grimaced looking embarrassed. "Yes. We did break up last night. Actually, I tried to break up with her weeks ago, but I have not been able to get away. I just couldn't take it anymore. She's very clingy."

"Yeah, I kind of got that vibe when we went out the other day."

The light turned green and Dean proceeded down the road. "You don't have to stay with me, but you are welcome to."

Cas sighed heavily. "I appreciate that, Dean, but you don't have to do that."

Dean glanced at him again. His dark hair was tousled, he looked exhausted, and he held his duffel bag like a life saver. "It’s no trouble, Cas. Really. You've been to my place. It's nothing great, but you can sleep on my couch for as long as it takes to get you on your feet."

"You have a very nice place, Dean," Cas said, looking at him with sad eyes. Dean felt his chest tighten. Usually only Sammy had that kind of power over him with just a simple look. He wanted to hug him and tell him everything would be fine. But instead, he kept his eyes on the road. "It's no big deal."

"It is a very big deal," Cas said, frustration and weariness making his voice tremble slightly.

Dean sighed. "Have you ever had your own place?" They pulled into the parking lot in front of Dean's apartment building.

"No. Well, I had a dorm room for several years."

"Alright," Dean said as they both got out of the car and Cas followed him up the steps. "If I was homeless, would you let me crash at your place?"

"Of course," Cas answered automatically. Seeing where Dean was going with his line of thought, he frowned.

"So, I don't want to hear anymore worrying about it," Dean summarized, unlocking the door.

Cas followed him in and stood in the living room holding his bag. Dean looked him up and down briefly. "Follow me."

Cas followed him into his tiny bedroom, hesitating at the door.

Dean sat on his bed, leaning down to his bottom drawer and pulled it open. He pulled out several pairs of jeans and sweatpants. He relocated the sweatpants to his top drawer and put the jeans on the shelf in his closet. "There ya go. All yours," Dean offered.

"Dean, you don't-"

"Hey, I'm kinda a neat freak, okay? Keep your stuff in there. And there are some spare hangers in the closet if you want them. Just put your stuff wherever it suits you in the bathroom."

Dean looked up at Cas and his breath caught. Cas' head was tilted to the side, his mouth tight and his eyes worried. He looked beyond adorable. "Thank you, Dean," he said softly.

"Come on, man," Dean said, stepping forward and taking the duffel bag out of his hands and sitting it on the unmade bed next to them. "Everybody struggles in this shitty life, you don't gotta do it alone."

Dean was somewhat surprised when he found himself hugging Cas. Cas stiffened slightly in his arms. "This is the part where you hug back, asshole."

Cas snorted a soft laugh, his arms wrapping around Dean's back, his head dropping onto his shoulder. 

Dean did not know what had come over him to hug the guy in the first place, but as he felt Cas melt in his arms, he squeezed just a bit tighter. Cas sighed heavily squeezing back. Dean would not classify this as 'holding someone' but it lasted longer than he ever remembered hugging anyone while on his feet.

They pulled apart finally, Dean noticing a slight blush to Cas' cheeks. He turned to his duffel bag and Dean backed up a step to give him some room. He pulled the zipper open and his trench coat mushroomed out the opening. Cas pulled it out and looked at Dean questioningly.

"Closet," Dean suggested, grinning at the familiar coat. Cas stepped around him and hung it up. Dean looked into the bag, noticing how little else there was inside. "You still need to get some stuff from her place?" Dean asked.

"This was everything I could find. She has been getting rid of my things."

"What?" Dean asked incredulous, "Why the hell would anybody do that?"

"I think she was trying to keep me from succeeding in any way possible."

"Dude, that bitch was crazy. I knew it when I met her," Dean said, shaking his head.

"I wish I had. I really fell for her tricks. She was so kind and inviting when we first met. I even slept with her."

Dean laughed.

"It might be funny to you, but she was the first woman I ever slept with," Cas said, pulling shirts out and folding them into a pile.

Dean bit his lip. "But not the first person you slept with?"

Cas gave him a nervous look. "No."

Dean nodded. Okay, there was that question answered. The guy was gay. Or bi. Whatever.

"Well, that was a shitty introduction to the generally shitty world of dating women," Dean grinned.

"Yeah, cuz guys are a piece of cake," Cas grinned back.

Dean shrugged, heading for the kitchen. "I wouldn't know. But Sam says guys are way easier to understand. No one likes a break up, but break ups with girls have always been drama with a capital D. Guys tend to forgive and move on. At least, that's how Sam has been."

Dean pulled the refrigerator door open, but looked back to see Cas' reaction.

Cas nodded. "I wasn't sure about Sam, but I had my suspicions," Cas said softly.

"Now you know," Dean grinned, handing him a beer.

Cas opened it and took a drink.

"Does it make you not want me to stay here? Knowing about me?" Cas asked.

"No," Dean laughed, truly smiling for the first time today.

"I'm not bi," Cas said. "I'm gay. I don't know what to say about April. That was a..."

"Tragedy," Dean offered.

"Definitely a mistake." The pair stood in the small kitchen drinking their beer, both lost in thought. "Dean, it's 9:00 in the morning. Why are we drinking beer?"

Dean laughed. "I don't know, man, it felt right. I needed a beer."

Dean moved to the table, sitting down. "Tell me about what happened to you. If...ya know, that's okay."

Cas sat down as well. "It's a long story, Dean."

"Alright. CliffsNotes. Or tell me everything. Whatever you can handle."

Cas leaned onto one hand, slouching over with a far-off look.

"I come from a big family. Lots of uncles and aunts, tons of cousins. I have four brothers and two sisters."

"Holy shit, that's a big family!" Dean scoffed, finishing his beer.

"Yes," Cas grinned half-heartedly. "My dad was the pastor of a very large church. He was rarely around for us, but the congregation adored him. Then he just...left."

Dean squinted in question, but waited.

"He left the church. Walked away from his entire life. Left my mother. Left all of us. Just...gone."

Cas took a drink of beer and went on. "My older brothers, Gabriel included, found him a few years ago. He said the congregation was taking what he said and was twisting it. That he could not be a part of any of it anymore. So, he lives in San Salvador somewhere. It sounds like some kind of hippie commune. He says he loves us and any of us are welcome to join him at any time."

"Did you ever go?" Dean asked.

"No. Not yet. I'm still too angry. I was six when he left. It fucked my life up completely. My mother was devastated. My older siblings were embarrassed. Everyone was angry. All the time. My mother remarried when I was fourteen. If I thought I lived in a strict environment before, it was nothing compared to when he moved in. I never dated in high school. I knew better. When I got to college...I went a bit overboard...but I had Gabriel to reel me back in. I loved college. For three years I was who I wanted to be. Then, one of my brothers came to visit and found out I was gay. My mother and stepfather came to my dorm." He paused, his blue eyes drifting up to Dean's. "They kicked me out. Cut off any funding, turned in my bills that are now insanely out of control, my stepdad tried to hit me, but I..."

"I hope you slammed his ass on the floor like the guy in the bar," Dean said tightly.

"Pretty much," Cas grinned.

He sighed heavily. "I was hunted by the church. The parishioners wanted to 'pray for me' and 'save me'. So I disappeared. For months I moved around. Slept on the streets. Disappeared. Just like my dad," he said bitterly, finishing his beer.

"But I couldn't live with myself being so gone from my family. Gabriel, anyway. So, eventually I tried to get to him in Denver. I ran out of money and never made it past here."

They sat in silence for several moments. 

"What are your plans?" Dean asked softly.

"Make some money, finish school, pay off my bills."

Dean nodded. "Sounds like a good plan."

Cas smiled, looking at Dean. "How about you?"

"Me? I don't know. Thought about enlisting in the military. I want to get out of here. I mean, I'm not miserable or anything, but I need a change. Thought about college, but I'm not school material. I don't know."

"You're a good cook."

Dean laughed. "Is that your way of asking for some breakfast? Because I don't know about you, but I'm starved."

Cas nodded. "Sure, I could eat."

Dean stood, picking up the bottles. "Here's what I know. One day at a time. Let's eat, take a nap, then go to work."

"That sounds amazing," Cas said, exhaustion sweeping over him.

"Go get a shower. Breakfast will be ready when you come out."

Cas stood up slowly. "Thank you, Dean. For everything. You are...surprisingly, a great person."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Don't go fuckin up my reputation, Cas. I have an image to uphold."

Cas ducked his head with a shy grin, heading to the bathroom. Dean felt his face flushing as he watched him walk out. He scrubbed his face with both hands. What was he doing? He just checked out Cas’ ass! Shit, shit, shit.

 

================

 

Full, rested, and happier than he had imagined possible this morning, Cas rode into the Roadhouse with Dean. He was surprised at how comfortable he was with Dean. What amazed him even more was how comfortable Dean seemed with him. Cas had never been accepted so quickly by a group of people before. While he and Sam had been instant friends, he had thought Dean was an open and shut case of assholism. He had been so very wrong about him. He had been wrong about April too. Come to think of it, he had grossly underestimated Gabriel as well. 

Toward the end of their shift, sheriff Mills came through the bar door with Ellen.

"Castiel? A word?" The sheriff asked.

He turned the water off at the sink and followed her back to Ellen's office, Ellen in tow. 

"So, are you really staying with Dean Winchester?" sheriff Mills asked.

"Yes," Cas answered, not allowing the smile that threatened to slip through. 

"Good. We have April Kelly at the station at the moment, but I don't think we can keep her. She says the spray paint we found in her apartment belonged to you, but since we can track you the entire night through surveillance footage from here, we have her on the vandalism charge."

"Good!" Ellen said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What concerns me more is her state of mind about you. She has some rather alarming thoughts about you and your relationship."'

"As far as I'm concerned, we have NO relationship," Cas explained.

"Well, she has fines to pay and a lawsuit coming up, but it's not jail worthy. And I get a real uneasy feeling about how angry she is at you. I recommend you fill out a restraining order."

Cas' mouth dropped. "Really?"

Sheriff Mills nodded, her eyes steadily pinning his.

"Alright," Cas said, thinking that was a bit much, but wanting to comply with the police. Besides, his judge of character was so inaccurate lately.

"Come down to the station when you get off."

"I don't get off until 3am," Cas said.

"Take the night off," Ellen said kindly. "This crazy bitch better never push that restraining order either."

Jody pushed her hands into her pockets. "See you down at the station."

Cas returned to the kitchen, Dean watching for him. Cas approached him from behind, Sam watching with interest.

"Dean, could you take me to the police station when we get off?"

Dean had turned from the grill, watching him with concern. "Of course, Cas. Everything okay?"

"They want me to take out a restraining order against April. It seems-"

"Seems like a good idea," Dean cut him off.

Cas nodded, turning to go back to the sink.

"Cas," Sam said, stepping toward him, "is there anything I can do? Do you need a place to stay or anything?"

Cas glanced back at Dean. "Um, thank you Sam, but I am staying at Dean's for awhile. Just until I can get some money together to get my own place."

"Oh," Sam said in a small voice. "That's good. Well, let me know if I can do anything."

Cas smiled and nodded. "I will, Sam. Thank you."

Sam turned back to prepping plates. Cas wondered why Dean had not told Sam. Maybe he was embarrassed to have him stay with him. Maybe he thought it was just not a big deal. Either way, it sat funny between them. 

Back to his sink and dishes, he changed the water and wiped one of the prep tables down. 

At the end of their shift, Cas was very thankful he did not have the night shift tonight. It had been a very long day full of ups and downs. He was feeling rather uncertain about himself in general. He hated feeling like a leech. No matter what Dean had said, he worried about imposing. 

 

==================

 

Dean pulled up to the police station and put the car in park.

"I'll try to be quick," Cas said, getting out of the back seat of the car.

"I'm gonna run Sam home, then I'll be back," Dean called, watching Cas walk up the four steps into the police station. His shoulders were slouched and he looked beat down. When they had gone to work, Cas seemed like he was feeling better, but by the end of their shift, his eyes wore the strain of a man struggling. Dean did not like that look on him. He much preferred when he smiled. These tiny lines crinkled out from the corners of his eyes when he laughed and they looked adorable.

He shook his head, shaking off the thought. The guy had baggage, that's for sure. Dean had enough baggage of his own.

"What's the deal with you and Cas?" Sam asked, startling Dean from his thoughts.

"What'd ya mean?" Dean asked, avoiding his brother's eyes and focusing on driving.

"I mean, he's my friend, Dean. You said he was weird. I got to know him and now he's living with you?"

Dean gave his brother a questioning look. "Dude, you sound jealous! Are you jealous?"

"No!" Sam scoffed, looking out the passenger window. 

Dean glanced at him several times. His brother and him had shared friends before. Brothers that could work together were pretty good per most family standards. "Sam...what's the problem?"

"Nothing," Sam said, plastering on a fake smile.

Dean rolled his eyes. "What's the problem?" He pressed more firmly.

Sam sighed. "Nothing."

They rode in silence for several blocks until Dean pulled into a dark parking lot.

"What's goin' on, Sammy?"

Sam tucked his hair behind his ear, shrugging a shoulder. "Cas is my friend. He's had a really hard time lately. I just...I know how you are and I don't want him to get hurt."

"What?" Dean said, surprised.

"I just...I mean...I think you like him. And you don't usually hang around. I mean, I thought you were kidding around at first. You don’t like guys! But...now I’m not so sure. I think you like him. And Cas deserves something good. Stable."

Dean narrowed his eyes at Sam. "If you weren't my brother, I would punch you in the fucking mouth."

"Dean! It's true. You know it is. You have no problem fucking a girl and leaving her."

“A, Cas isn’t a girl. B, that is NOT what I do.”

Sam shrugged. “You can’t commit to even pick out a career. Shit, you don’t even own a pet or, or, a friggin’ houseplant, Dean. You have zero commitment skills.”

"Fuck you, Sam," Dean hissed. "I help a friend of yours out...and this is what I get?"

Dean threw the car in drive and peeled out of the parking lot. Sam sighed again and Dean turned up the music.

"Dean, I just want you to be careful if you like the guy, okay?"

"I don't like the guy." Dean was beyond pissed. To hear this shit from Sam, of all people, hurt to the core. Fuck Sam. Fuck Cas. "You want the guy to stay with you?" Dean sped around a corner. "Then you take him to Dad's. That'll go over real well I'm sure."

"I'm sorry, okay? I was just looking out for my friend," Sam mumbled.

"Yeah, I got that."

"Come on, Dean!"

Dean was done. So much for doing nice things for people. This is what it got ya. A nice stab in the back. A dose of reality on something nice. Fuck nice. He could be a mean bastard if he wanted to be. Or, apparently that's what he was, so he might as well act like one. Fuck.

Fucking fuck.

And he wasn't gay. Sam was gay. Sam was jealous of him and Cas. And went even further saying Dean was a shitty person to date. Not good enough for Cas, anyway. And he basically didn’t have his shit together enough to ever have a life, let alone a goldfish.

"Dean, I'm sorry," Sam said.

"I heard you the first time," Dean growled.

"That came out all wrong, Dean, I-"

Dean came to an abrupt stop in front of their family home where Sam still lived.

"Look, I'm a jerk," Sam said.

"I don't like the guy!" Dean yelled. "You want to fuck him, go ahead! You want to bring him home? Go ahead! You want me to throw him out tonight? I will! But that's real fucked up. And I'm the jerk."

Sam sighed heavily. "Okay, I'm an asshole. I was jealous, okay? He likes you. Better than me. Everyone likes you more than me."

"Are you five?" Dean asked, incredulous.

Sam sighed, pulled his hands through his hair and turning on Dean. "I have...like...a crush or whatever on him. On Cas."

"Congratulations, you've improved from five to twelve," Dean mocked.

"I know, I know," Sam ground out, glaring back at Dean. "I sound like a twelve year old girl. Whatever."

A tense moment stretched out between the brothers. 

"If you don't like him like that, then there's no problem," Sam said. "But I think you do. Just from some looks I've seen."

"I got it, Sam," Dean bit out, looking straight ahead. "Get out of my car. I won't fuck Cas."

"Uhg," Sam griped, opening the door. "If you can't admit that you are the dumping type, and that makes me a jerk, then I'm just sayin it like it is. Lisa wasn't wrong. You didn't want to commit and now you are on your own again.”

Dean pressed his lips impossibly tight and wrenched his own door open, tearing out of the car and around the front. By the time he got to Sam's door, he was standing up with a glare in his eye. Dean did not say a word. He had warned him. Sam might be taller, but Dean had been his big brother all his life.

"Dean-"

Dean's fist connected with Sam's mouth with a sickening squelch.

Sam staggered back into the car but quickly lunged forward, wrapping an arm around Dean's shoulders and barreling him to the ground. They wrestled and hit and punched until they were pulled apart by their dad.

"What the hell?" John demanded. "You boys haven't done this bullshit since you were sixteen, Dean!"

Dean laughed, wiping blood off his chin with the back of his hand. "See there, Sammy, maturing faster than a dog. Already sixteen."

Sam screwed his mouth up and went to throw another punch. Between Dean stepping back and John catching his arm, Dean was saved the blow. 

"What are you two fighting over?" John demanded."

"Nothing," the brothers said.

"Uh huh, must be a girl," John said.

The brothers huffed.

John squinted a perceptive eye at them. "A guy?"

They both gave him a guilty frown.

"Well knock it off. And since when do you like guys, Dean?" 

Sam rolled his eyes. "It's not over a guy. I just told Dean not to hit and run a guy that's a friend of mine."

"Uh huh," John groused. "Well knock it off. You two are brothers. Forever. That comes first."

Sam wiped at his bloody mouth and relaxed, Dean doing the same.

"Find your own ride to work tomorrow," Dean said bitterly, going back to his car. "Night, Dad."

John gave him a wave as he pulled off, Sam already heading inside. Dean was calmer, but still pissed as hell. The nerve of his know-it-all brother ate at him the entire way back to the police station. Accusing him of being gay. Making it sound like Dean was a horrible person to date. Like Dean’s life was shit.

Cas was not outside, so he took a moment to decompress. He needed a drink. Ten drinks. So, Sam liked Cas. Whatever. He could have him. But the thought sat sourly in his stomach. He rolled the window down and sucked in a breath of fresh air. 

Cas came out the front door, looking for Dean. Seeing him, he gave a small smile and made his way to the car.

"Hello, Dean," he said, sliding in.

"How'd it go?" Dean mumbled, pulling out of the parking lot and heading back to his apartment.

"Fine. I feel ridiculous taking out a PFA against a woman."

"Hey, crazy is crazy. It'll keep you legal if something would happen."

"Dean," Cas said, his voice suddenly full of concern.

"What?" Dean snapped, glancing around for April, but seeing nothing and looked at Cas.

"What happened?" Cas asked, his hand touching Dean's chin with a feather-light touch.

"Nothing," he said, tipping his head away and looking back at the road. "None of your business, anyway." He felt bad as soon as he lashed out. He grimaced, his mouth reminding him how swollen his lip was getting. Just be an asshole and the guy will go away. Sam can have him. Weird, trench coat wearing, friggin' blue freakin' eyed...he sighed heavily.

Cas' head was down. This sucked. He didn't want to be mean to him. He didn't want to ruin their friendship. And yeah, the guy was fuckin' smokin' hot. Fuckin' Sam. Dean had been fighting thoughts of Cas since the night he put those damn pills in his mouth. Yeah, he was trashed at the time, but he remembered the feeling of Cas' fingers on his mouth. The intense look in his eyes. His hands holding on to him before they got him in bed. He had never been attracted to a guy like this before. He was fine with people being gay or bi. It had just never occurred to him that he might be too.

They went into the apartment without another word. Dean went straight to the bathroom for a shower. It seemed every day pushed him further and further from Fremont, Nebraska. As water ran hot and soothing down his body, his mind slowed down a bit. He pressed both palms flat against the wall and breathed in several long, slow breaths. 

Refreshed and somewhat calmer, Dean emerged from the shower, glancing around his living room for Cas. He found him outside the living room window on a fire escape. He was slouched over, leafing slowly through his tattoo portfolio. It was a binder full of pictures of tattoos he had done and drawings of others he liked. Dean squatted at the window and leaned out onto the sill resting his chin on his own fist.

"Find something you want?" He asked.

Cas startled slightly. "It was on the coffee table," Cas said quietly, giving him a shy smile. 

Dean wanted to smile back. He wanted to crawl out the window, sit next to him and talk about tattoos. Feel him sitting closely beside him, accidental touches...purposeful touches... So, was he more and more attracted to Cas because he was around him more, or because Sam had basically made him off limits?

"It's okay, it's not private or anything," Dean answered finally. Cas' gaze slid down to his mouth again. Remembering his bruised lips, he quirked a grin. "Sammy and I got in a fight."

Cas closed the book and looked concerned. "Why?"

"Oohhh," Dean sighed, rolling his eyes away. How to answer that. Honest? Blow it off? 

Cas leaned back, his look of concern turning to a guarded expression. "Is this about me?"

Dean laughed softly. "Maybe."

Cas bit his lip and looked down the stairs. "I think Sam and you are...great. The Roadhouse...it's like no where I have ever worked before. One minute I think people can't stand me and the next they make me feel like...family. It's...confusing. I spoke with Gabriel while you were in the shower. He will be here tomorrow night. I will be leaving with him." Cas turned his head, his blue eyes piercing right into Dean's soul. 

He could not name the feelings coming through the gaze, but it was intense. "If I have caused problems between you and your brother, I am very sorry."

Dean licked his dry lips. "Cas, you don't gotta leave. You are doing okay here. You have a good job and you can save money staying here until you're in better shape. You don't have to leave. Sam and I will be fine. He was bein’ a punk-ass bitch and I decked him for it. It's a brother thing."

Cas nodded. "I appreciate that, Dean, but I'm not doing okay here." His gaze slid away, off to a random spot straight ahead of him. "I'm not doing okay anywhere."

The look of dejection made a knot of pain coil tightly in Dean's chest. He had to physically restrain himself from crawling through the window to touch him, hug him, kiss him. Dean’s hands were in tight fists and he rocked backwards slightly. "Cas, do what you want man, but just know you are fine staying here."

Without another look, he stood and walked to his bedroom, shutting the door.

He lay awake for hours. Cas never came in for his pajamas. Never got a shower. It was radio silence out there. The longer he was away from Cas, the angrier he got. Whether it was with himself, Sam, or Cas, depended on the moment. In the wee hours of the morning, he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will post again on Thursday. Then again over the weekend.  
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Have a great week guys!!!!


	6. After Hours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas can’t figure Dean out. Probably because Dean can’t figure himself out. Sam knows what he wants the second he sees it. At least someone becomes decisive :)  
> This is the chapter that has a violence tag. Fair warning. I think it’s pretty mild, but I’d rather over-tag than catch someone off guard.  
> Hope you are enjoying this guys!

Chapter 6. After Hours

 

Cas woke late the next morning to Dean banging around in the kitchen. He rolled over, watching him toast a bagel and pour a cup of coffee. Their eyes never met and Cas could tell by the sharp, abrupt movements that Dean was still in a bad mood. 

Bagel and coffee in hand, Dean headed for the door. He looked back at Cas. "I'm goin' out. Got stuff to do. I'll be back at four to get ready for work."

"Okay," Cas said, his voice harsh with morning tiredness. 

Dean stopped, hand on the knob. His eyes seemed to drill a hole into the door. 

"There's coffee ready. Help yourself to whatever you want to eat."

With a quick snap of the door, he was gone. 

Cas sat up. He scrubbed a hand through his hair and rested his elbows on his knees. He could not keep up with Dean's changing moods. One minute he seemed like such a jerk. The next he was a really great guy. Either way, Cas could not stay this close to him. He was gorgeous. Self-assured and cocky at times. Soft and gentle at others. And all of it was driving Castiel's libido crazy. Dean was obviously trying to put up with him. The thought of being such a burden to a guy like Dean was embarrassing and doing nothing for his self esteem. And he had the suspicion that Sam liked him more than he liked Sam. He was a great guy, handsome too. Just not what Cas was looking for. He had no right wanting to drag someone into his crappy life anyway. Denver was looking more and more like a fresh start. He wanted to leave on good terms though. 

 

======================

 

It had been a long day avoiding his own apartment. Dean finally went in around four. Cas was sitting on the couch reading a book from Dean's bookshelf.

"Hey," he said quietly.

"Hello, Dean." Cas did not raise his eyes from the book.

Dean put his bag on the table and glanced around the small apartment. "Did you clean?"

"Yes," Cas said, glancing up now. "I hope you don't mind. I vacuumed, mopped, cleaned the bathroom, and cleaned the windows in the living room."

"Damn!" Dean looked around, feeling guiltier by the second. "Glad you moved in!" It was then that Dean caught sight of Cas' packed duffel bag. Their eyes met. "You're leaving," Dean said, in a small voice.

"Y-yes," Cas answered, looking back at his book. "It will be for the best."

Dean grit his teeth. He wanted to beg him to stay. The thought of him leaving made him feel uptight and down-right claustrophobic. Not trusting himself to either melt down like a teenager or bite Cas’ head off in frustration, he shook his head, heading for his room.

Dean got ready for work and they went in to the Roadhouse. Cas hefted the duffel onto his shoulder and Dean eyed it angrily. "Leave it in the car, for God's sake. I promise you can have it back. Unless you aren't even planning on working your shift tonight, which will be just fucking awesome."

Cas slowly lowered the bag back onto the passenger seat. A scowl knit his brows. "Dean, I'm sorry if I've made you angry."

"Whatever, man. Leaving Ellen hanging though, not giving her time to replace you? That sucks."

Cas nodded. He went inside, ahead of Dean, bag left on the front seat. Dean followed, slow and resigned. He had to work with Sam. And every time he snapped at Cas he wanted to hurt himself. Never before had he felt so emotionally fucked up.

"Dean!" Sam called from across the parking lot, coming toward him at a jog.

Dean stopped. He shoved his hands in his jeans pockets and waited.

"Hey," Sam said, tucking hair behind his ear. "I just wanted to say I was really sorry about yesterday. I acted like a jerk and I hope we can just...move on."

Dean nodded, not meeting his eye. "Sure, Sam."

"Aw," Sam protested, swinging his head back. "Don't do fake happy with me, Dean. Fake happy sucks. Real mad or real happy. No fake."

"Look, Sam, Cas is leaving, so I guess neither of us has a problem. The problem is...leaving."

"Oh," Sam frowned in surprise, "I had no idea. Is he here?"

"Yep."

"Dean," he said, quieter, "I like Cas a lot. But I think maybe you like him more. And that's okay."

"I don't like him," Dean snapped. "Told you that yesterday."

"And I don't believe it today either," Sam said, taking on a full glare from Dean.

"I have never seen you get so upset about somebody before. And I think I just liked him so much because he was just so...nice." Sam shrugged, kicking at some rocks. "It was just a thought I kicked around and then you stepped in and...I figured he would be quick to pick you over me, like always, and I just didn't want that to happen."

Dean's glare had faded to a questioning look. "What do you mean, 'like always'?"

Sam shrugged. "I don't know. Like girls I would bring around or friends, guys. Some of them liked you more than me."

Dean scoffed. "Sam, I'm older than you, that's all. You've had plenty of girl friends, boyfriends and guy friends that never gave me a second glance."

Sam nodded. "Well, I'm sorry for the crap I said about Lisa. And picking a career. It’s not true. I was just...pissed. I guess I was getting territorial. And, if I'm wrong about you liking Cas, then I'm sorry. I just thought maybe...I don't know." He paused, glancing back at the door, "You didn't tell Cas anything I said, did you?"

"He guessed. But I didn't give him any details."

"He guessed?! Shit." Sam sighed heavily. "I'll talk to him."

"Yeah, well, like I said, he's leaving, so ya better do it quick." Dean headed into the bar, Sam on his heels. 

"You weren't mean to him, were you?"

"No," Dean sniped. "I sure wasn't too friendly though. Thought I might lose my head if I acted too nice." Dean gave him an accusing look, noticing that Sam still had half a black eye from last night.

Sam groaned. "Jeez, Dean. I didn't make that big a deal about it. I don’t even really like him that much. I was more pissed it was you."

Dean huffed. “Lucky me.”

Both stopped in their tracks as the office door opened and Cas stepped out. Ellen wore a look of concern on her face. Dean guessed that Cas told her he was leaving and she would have to hire someone new. 

"Better go catch your boyfriend, Sam," Dean bit out resentfully. Sam rolled his eyes, shoving past him and Ellen gave him a questioning look.

"Boy," Ellen said sternly, "Lisa put her notice in yesterday. Now Cas. You got somethin' to do with me losin’ all my good help?"

Dean shook his head, shoulders dropping. "No. Maybe. Hell, I don't know." 

Ellen gave him a stern look and turned back into her office. "Three simple rules! No dating coworkers, Dean. I can't afford it."

Dean rolled his eyes and headed into the kitchen. This was going to be a long fucking night.

 

======================

 

Cas sighed when he saw the mound of dirty dishes by the sink. It all felt so insurmountable. He started the water running and stood there watching the sink slowly fill. He had told Ellen he would be done in two weeks. Asking Dean if he could stay another two weeks was going to suck. Dean was already so annoyed with him. 

"Hey, Cas?" Sam said nervously.

Cas turned to see Sam standing behind him. "Hello, Sam."

"Hey. I just wanted to say..." Sam twitched his mouth nervously and tucked his hair behind both ears, "that Dean and I got into a fight last night and it wasn't really about you. I mean, it was, but not really."

Cas was confused. "Sam, I think maybe you and I had a misunderstanding," he said slowly.

Sam bit his bottom lip. 

"I really like you, Sam. As a friend. I had no idea I would cause problems between you and your brother, and-"

"Cas!" Sam cut in, raising a hand to stop him. "This was, I...uh." Sam took a breath, looking at the floor, his words coming out in a big whoosh. "I thought I had a crush on you, I thought maybe you liked me too, but now I can see that Dean likes you a lot and I don't want to be a jerk about it and I was. I said shitty stuff to Dean that pissed him off. Now he's mad at me and taking it out on you."

Cas furrowed his brow, processing the slew of information. "Dean does not like me, Sam. Not like that. Wait...Sam, I'm sorry if I led you on."

"You didn't," Sam said, a blush rising on his cheeks. "You're just...very nice and so open and once I knew the April thing was just circumstantial...I don't know. This sounds horrible...but, this is a small town. Coming across another gay guy...and you’re really a nice guy. I just..."

Cas scratched his head. "It's okay, Sam. Please don't be upset about it. I'm not upset."

Sam nodded but still looked really uncomfortable. Sam was young. It was not surprising. This was a small town. His options so far were undoubtedly limited. College was going to be an eye opener for him. He was a great guy. Cas hated the awkwardness between them. But, being older, he knew Sam was going to have a lot more options ahead of him in his lifetime. He dipped a hand into the sink water and flicked him, spraying water into his face.

Sam mopped a hand down his face, grinning. 

They exchanged apologetic grins and Sam cleared his throat. "Maybe I was wrong about Dean liking you. But I'm not so sure. Anyway, he says you're leaving. Why?"

Cas sighed, looking toward the door, seeing Dean come in and go straight to the grill, switching the radio on and wrapping an apron around his slim waist.

"I'll be here for two weeks to help Ellen find a replacement. I'm going to Denver with Gabriel. I just...I don't belong here."

Sam gave him a worried look. "Please don't leave because of me and my stupid crap or Dean being a jerk."

"You and your feelings are not stupid," Cas assured him, turning the sink water off. "And Dean has been more than accommodating. More than I could ask for."

Sam gave him a curious look. "I get the feeling maybe you like Dean."

Cas stammered a bit.

"He's a good guy, Cas. When you get past the asshole wall of armor, he's the best guy you could ever want." He slapped Cas on the back. "But if you're leaving, don't jerk him around, alright? He's been through enough."

"You two can kiss and make out later!" Dean snapped. "I need a damn assistant here."

Sam rolled his eyes and Cas merely raised his eye brows.

Several hours into the evening, Cas noticed a brunette come in through the door to the back hall. She glanced around, slinking up to the prep table. "Hello, there, gorgeous," she said in a British accent.

Dean turned to look at her. He couldn't see Dean's face, but his body language was all flirtation. "Bela, Bela. What can I do for you?"

She squeezed her eyes shut, obviously drinking him in. It made Cas irritated. Maybe his initial instincts about Dean were right. He was a cocky flirt.

"I was hoping you could do me," she said, winking.

Dean laughed, turning back to the grill to flip a burger.

Cas had seen more than he wanted to. He snatched the pot he had just scrubbed and walked toward Dean.

"So," Dean said, turning back to this Bela chick with a flirty grin, leaning down on his elbows to be eye level with her, "ready for some more Winchester signature service?"

"I am," she smiled, looking like a cat about to catch her prey.

Cas sat the pot down on the table with a louder bang than he intended. Dean shot him a startled look, then narrowed his eyes at him.

"I'm going on break," Cas said, leaving the kitchen. He stepped out back and sat on a bench that ran along the back of the building. His head rested against the brick wall. He had just acted like a jerk. Maybe that's how Dean had been feeling. He stood up and walked across the dark parking lot, stopping at Dean's car. He sat on the trunk, leaning back onto his hands and looked up at the stars. 

"If you scratch her paint, I'll have to kill you, you know that, right?"

Cas' head jerked forward and he gasped. Dean stood at his feet, which were perched on the bumper. "You scared the crap out of me!"

"Kinda jumpy, aren't ya?" Dean smirked. His hands were in his pockets and his shoulders were relaxed. "You pissed at me, Cas?"

"Me? No." Cas sat up, gently getting off the car. "And I didn't scratch it."

Dean nodded, his eyes lingering slightly where Cas had been sitting.

"Dean, I gave Ellen my two weeks notice. I thought about what you said, just walking out of here and leaving Ellen. I don't want to do that to her. Would it be okay if I stayed with you for two weeks?"

Dean nodded slowly. "Yeah, Cas. That would be fine."

"I can pay you rent, or-"

"You're not paying me rent," Dean snapped. He rubbed a hand across his mouth and sat on the hood of the trunk next to where Cas stood. "I'm sorry if I've been a jerk. Sam and I had a fight and I... I guess I took it out on you."

Cas nodded. "It's okay, Dean. Sam is young. He says he had a crush on me and I told him that I don't like him like that. I just can't even think about dragging anyone into my already shitty life." 

Crickets chirped and they watched bats swoop in and out of the parking lot lights, catching bugs. 

"He also said that he thought you liked me and I assured him you were not interested. I just didn't want you to think that I thought the same thing. That way there's no tension between us."

Dean nodded, his eyes swinging down from the bats to Cas. It was warm and Dean looked so young and fresh-faced in the moonlight. Maybe in another life, he and Dean could have had something between them. Cas reminded himself that Dean was not interested in guys. 

"Guess I better head in," Cas said. "Thanks for letting me stay. It really means a lot to me."

"Yeah," Dean's voice came out so quiet. "Oh, I forgot to tell you, your brother is here. He’s in Ellen's office."

"Oh! I guess I better go!" Cas took off through the parking lot and went back to Ellen's office. He really hoped he and Dean could get back to not being awkward around each other.

 

Cas tapped on the office door. Ellen waved him in, but all her focus was on Gabe.

Gabriel flipped the contract closed and sat it on Ellen's desk. "You never should have signed that contract."

Ellen grimaced, but nodded.

"As for this new proposal, tear that up. There is no way in hell I would sign something like that."

"Okay," Ellen nodded, watching him raptly.

Gabriel turned to see who came in the door. "Cassie!" He called cheerfully, standing up and hugging him. 

He turned back to Ellen, serious again. "I'm gonna need to go through that contract with a fine tooth comb and research Nebraska state laws. I'm used to working in Colorado. And I would recommend letting Castiel look over your taxes and invoices again."

“Done,” Ellen said matter-of-factly. She jumped up, pulled several files from different file drawers and put the stack on the corner of her desk. To Cas, she said, “Take them with you when you go. And I’ll pay you for the time spent on it.”

Cas nodded, eyeing the stack. “I’ll do my best, Ellen.”

“We’re gonna get you out of this mess,” Gabe stated confidently. “I’m not gonna lie though. It is a mess.”

"Thank you, Mr. Novak," Ellen said. "And how much is this going to cost?"

"Please, call me Gabriel. Or Gabe. I'm not sure about cost yet. It could be pro bono, or I may take a cut if we can get something substantial out of him. But I will warn you, he's slick. And he is NOT to be trusted. From this point on, you change all your passwords, you give him NOTHING, and you call me if he steps foot in here again."

Ellen nodded. "Thank you, Gabe."

"Anytime!" He said, standing and flashing a stupendous grin. "Now, I need a drink with my little brother."

"I'm still on the clock, Gabriel," Cas said, following him down the hall. 

"Fine, go back to work, I'll be out here at the bar when you're done." They stopped at the kitchen door, Cas stepping in. Gabe nosed inside. "Hey, Dean-o!" He waved.

Dean nodded to Sam to take over the grill.

"Hi, Gabe," Dean grinned, walking over.

"How's my brother been?" Gabe asked.

Cas rolled his eyes. "I'm right here, Gabriel."

"He's been...kinda squirrelly," Dean said, giving Cas a considering look.

"What?" Cas snapped.

"Go on," Gabe grimaced, his honey brown eyes on Cas now.

"He has a bag packed and in my car. Says he's gonna stay and work out his two weeks, but, I don't know. He seems like he's ready to jet."

Cas turned flushed cheeks and bulging eyes onto Dean. "What the hell?"

Dean shrugged.

Gabe took a menacing step closer to Cas, making Cas give him his full attention. "You so much as take too long in the bathroom and I will put a fucking tracker in your skull. Capicè?"

Cas gave him a questioning look. "Gabe, I won't run away. Not again. I promise. I had the bag packed to leave with you." 

The stare-off lasted only a minute, but the messages of pain and apology and forgiveness transpired between them. "I'll be at the bar," Gabe said, continuing on down the hall.

They both watched as he walked down the hall in his designer jeans, dress shirt and blazer. As soon as the door to the restaurant side closed, Cas wheeled on Dean and shoved him on the shoulder so hard that Dean staggered back a step.

"Hey!" Dean said, surprised.

"Quit trying to cause problems between me and my brother," Cas said through clenched teeth.

Dean shoved him back, Cas barely budging, "I'm not! If anything, I'm helping you!"

Cas huffed and walked back to the sink, Dean going back to the grill. Sam watched the two, not sure what to think about either one of them.

When his shift was finished, Cas went to the time clock by the back door. When he turned back toward the kitchen, he was surprised to see Dean standing there.

“Oh, I was just going to say goodnight to Gabe before we leave.”

“Okay. Listen, Cas...I’m sorry about being a jerk earlier.”

Wow. Cas was a bit taken aback to get another apology from Dean. He really did not strike him as the apologizing type. “No, I’m sorry. I should never have pushed you.”

Dean grinned. “Ah, I was pushing your buttons. I don’t know why I do that.” The last bit seemed more to himself than to Cas. “I need a few minutes anyway. I gotta straighten things out with Sam. I was pretty hard on him.”

Cas nodded. “I’ll be up front with Gabe whenever you’re ready.”

The pair gave each other a nod, moving past each other. He went out to the bar to join Gabe. 

"Hey there, Cassie," Gabriel grinned. They walked over to a booth and sat down.

"Gabriel, I want to start out by saying that I promise to never disappear again. Never. Not from you."

Gabe nodded. "Alright. It's just...that was a really crappy thing to do after Dad. I went to see him, ya know."

"You did?" Cas asked, surprised.

"Thought you might be there. He was worried when I told him you were MIA, but then he gave me some hippy shit about the universe would take care of you, blah, blah, yada."

Cas huffed a bitter laugh. "The universe did not take care of me. I figured things out on my own. That's why I want to do this on my own. I don't want to need help...but I do. Just a little."

"There's nothing to be ashamed of, kiddo," Gabriel said, finishing a fruity drink of some sort. "Your siblings all had help. I can help you."

"Are you going to tell Mother?" Cas asked, shifting nervously in his seat.

"That would require communication, of which I have none with her. I kinda came out in a big, brash, slightly ridiculous way after what she did to you. She can keep her God-fearing money."

The brothers exchanged a knowing look.

"So," Cas said, "are you dating anyone?"

"No. I've been solo for 6 months now. Kinda a record for me."

Cas had known two of Gabriel's boyfriends and had liked the one. When they were kids, Gabriel had warned Cas, after he had an ‘inappropriate encounter’ at school, to not let his true feelings show. Without Gabe’s guidance, Cas would have been disowned long ago. 

"Last time I spoke to Mother was almost a year ago when her and Michael showed up unannounced at my house looking for you. She was sure to tell me how I had corrupted you."

Cas grimaced and shook his head.

"I told her and Michael to take a fucking hike."

"Not in those words!" Cas said, shock on his face.

"Those exact words, little bro. That was when I started looking for you."

Cas looked down guiltily. "I'm sorry for worrying you, Gabriel."

"I know. It wasn't your fault, Cassie."

Silence fell for a few minutes. Dean came from the back door and sat down next to Cas, handing him a beer. "You want a drink, Gabe?"

"No, thank you. I had three appletinis. I better slow my roll."

Sam came out of the back and approached the table hesitantly. 

Gabe's face lit up. "And who might this tall drink of cowboy water be?"

"This is my brother, Sam," Dean laughed.

"Have a seat, Sam," Gabriel grinned, scooting over.

Sam sat down with a blushing smile and a beer.

"You need a place to stay tonight?" Dean asked Gabriel.

"No. I got a motel room. This town is ridiculously small, by the way. I've used public restrooms more expensive in Denver than the dive joint I'm staying in tonight."

"So, what are you doing to help Ellen," Cas interrupted.

Gabe’s eyes flicked to the brothers and Cas waved for him to go ahead. “They know everything.”

He slid his empty drink out of the way and pulled out his briefcase, getting out the contract and Sam's list of questions. "Whoever made this list of questions was right on target," Gabe said, laying the two side by side.

"That was me," Sam said, looking at Gabriel's notes on several of the questions.

"Are you a law student?" Gabe asked.

"I'm going to college for pre-law," Sam said.

Gabe gave him a calculating look. "I haven’t been practicing long, but you have a good eye, Sam."

Sam smiled slow. "Thank you."

Gabe turned back to the table in general, clearing his throat. "Do you guys know this Ash guy?"

"Yeah," the three answered.

Gabe leaned in, whispering, "Ash is a fucking genius. The shit he has on Crowley is going to bring him down. And don't ever cross him. Ever. Ash could ruin your life with ten minutes and a cellphone."

Dean and Sam gave him an incredulous look. Only Cas nodded along.

"The dude is stoned 24/7!" Dean laughed.

"Trust me, Winchester, genius. For reals."

Sam and Gabriel went item by item, delving into law lingo.

Eventually Cas and Dean slid out of the booth. "You sleepin' here, Sam? Or you ready to go home?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess I'm ready," Sam said, giving Gabriel an apologetic look.

"I can drop him off," Gabriel smiled.

"Gabriel," Cas said in a stern voice, "Sam is nineteen years old."

"Jesus!" Gabriel said, giving Sam a shocked look. "Way to make me feel like a cradle robber!" He gave Sam an uncomfortable look.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Cas."

Cas and Dean both gave the pair a questioning look. 

"I'm twenty-six," Gabriel said to Sam. "Am I freaking you out?"

"No!" Sam said, annoyed with all of them.

"We're fine," Gabriel waved dismissively to Cas and Dean. "Have a good night, kids, we got this."

Dean gave Gabriel an unsure look and then moved it to Sam. 

"Go, Dean," Sam said, looking back at the list.

"Come on," Gabriel said, gathering his papers. "Let's take this meeting somewhere more private. Ever driven a Mustang?" He tossed Sam his car keys.

Sam jumped up and followed Gabriel out the front door without a backwards glance.

"Shit," Cas said, watching the door close.

"What?" Dean asked.

"Gabriel...he just...I don't want him to take advantage of Sam."

"Sam's a big boy and that would not be his first rodeo," he winked at Cas and patted his shoulder roughly, heading for the back exit. "I was hoping Sam wasn't going to take advantage of Gabe."

Cas followed Dean to his car and they went back to Dean's apartment. 

"Unpack your shit," Dean said, a grin tugging at his mouth.

Cas nodded and put his meager amount of things away again. He took a quick shower and came out to the living room in black and white plaid pajama bottoms and the Metallica t-shirt.

"She didn't lose that one, huh?" Dean asked from the couch. He was drinking a beer and flipping channels on the TV.

"No," Cas said, glancing down at it. “I hid this one.” A grin quirked his lips. “I like it. I have a grand total of four shirts and this is one of them."

"Let's go shopping tomorrow," Dean said. "Get you some more stuff."

Cas nodded. "I just need to wait for pay day. April got the rest of my money."

"What a bitch," Dean said, shaking his head. "I'll spot you some money, Cas, don't worry about it."

"I'll be fine with four shirts," Cas insisted.

"Hey," Dean said, looking at him, "do you really not have a cell phone? Because I saw you with one the day we went out."

Cas shook his head, sliding down deeper into the couch. "It was a track phone April bought me. I left it at her place."

Dean nodded, looking back at the TV, Cas doing the same.

Dean watched him as he sat only a cushion away on the couch. They watched a few minutes of a game show and Cas was nodding off.

Dean reached over and rubbed Cas' shoulder, waking him up a little. "You should go to bed. You're tired."

"I can't," he said sleepily, "You're in my bed."

Dean laughed a little, blushed and stood up. He helped him put sheets and a blanket on the couch and Cas got in. 

"Goodnight, Dean," he said, half asleep.

"Night," Dean said, heading back to his own room.

 

The next day started out slow. Both guys were dragging from their hectic week. Dean was up first and made a huge bowl of cereal, sitting on the other end of the sectional to not disturb Cas. Cas peeked out from under the blanket, watching Dean slurp huge spoonfuls into him mouth.

"Hungry?" Dean managed around a big bite.

Cas pushed the blanket down, grinning. "No."

"Coffee's ready."

Cas sat up. It was noon. He stood up and stretched, then headed to the coffee pot for a large mug of black coffee. “I was up half the night going through Ellen’s invoices and taxes. Crowley is stealing money from her.” He sat back down on the couch. “I sent Ash and email with the amounts.” He yawned. “I think we’re gonna catch him.”

Dean smiled. “You did all that in the middle of the night?”

Cas looked at him shyly. “I...sometimes I have trouble sleeping. I work well at night.” He looked back at his coffee mug with a nostalgic grin. “Used to drive my roommate crazy.”

Dean was giving him an incredulous look. “You’re gonna be an amazing accountant, Cas.”

Cas blushed, looking at Dean again. “Thank you. Right now I would settle for being an employed one.”

They both chuckled at that.

"I thought we could go to Arlington this afternoon. They have a huge thrift shop there," Dean managed around another full bite.

Cas frowned, looking like he was going to argue with him.

"Let me rephrase that," Dean said, wiping a dribble of milk off his chin, "get ready, we're leaving in half an hour."

Cas smirked and Dean grinned, cheeks full of cereal.

As much as Cas did not want to use Dean's money, he needed some clothes. He only had one pair of pajama pants, one pair of jeans, and two pairs of socks. "I really need socks. And jeans."

Dean grinned again, seeing he had won the conversation.

Being alone with Dean was more comfortable than it had been. He was more relaxed, Cas following suit.

They shopped at a big box store for more boxer briefs and socks and bathroom supplies. Dean also got some groceries. 

At the thrift shop, Cas ended up with a pile of t-shirts, half of which he had tried to put back, but Dean wasn't having it. Pajama pants turned into a ugly-pant challenge. They were running a sale (yes, even thrift shops run sales) marking them down to a dollar each. They went on a mission to find each other the ugliest or most ridiculous ones they could. Dean picked out a pair with Pac-man all over them, a pair with bumblebees, and a pair with tiny pinstripes and little bunnies for Cas. Cas picked out a pair with Mario brothers, Harry Potter lightening bolts and cauldrons, and thin cotton ones with hamburgers for Dean. They laughed and teased each other terribly. Dean bought three albums and they agreed his apartment would benefit from a nice bookshelf for all Dean's DVDs. Cas also got a very soft blue blanket to add to his bedding.

They ate lunch at a diner and drove back to Dean's apartment. Dean headed up the steps with three bags. He unlocked the door and turned around in shock to see Cas behind him with the bookshelf.

"What the hell, Cas? I woulda helped with that! It's solid wood!"

Cas grinned and followed him in, sitting it down in the middle of the room. 

"Ya know, you don't look that strong," Dean said, eyeing him, making Cas shift his weight nervously, "but you're like Superman strong!" 

Cas blushed slightly. "I am small but mighty."

Dean crossed the room, coming to a stop right in front of him. "You're only like 2 inches shorter than me. You just...hide those muscles."

Cas could see every fleck of gold in his otherwise emerald green eyes. Every freckle beautifully placed on his smooth skin. Dean was teasing him, but it felt so much more intimate than that. He could reach up right now and touch that smooth skin, touch his lips again...but no. Dean was straight. Cas was confusing his signals. He stepped back quickly and shoved Dean by the shoulder, "Is this the part where you make me kick your ass just to prove I can?" He laughed.

Dean stepped back from the playful shove and laughed, turning away. "Maybe another time, Clark Kent."

Cas gave him a hesitant look. "That's Superman, right?"

"Uhhh!" Dean moaned dramatically. "Yeah! Did you live under a rock when you were a kid?"

"No TV," he shrugged.

"No comics either?" Dean scoffed.

Cas shook his head no with an embarrassed grin.

"Dude, when we get home tonight, we are inventorying my DVDs to see what you need to watch to make sure you are actually human-like before you leave me."

Cas laughed, but his eyes lingered on Dean. It was the wording he had just used. 'Leave me', was an odd way to put it. After all, he had to be cramping Dean's style.

They cleaned the bookshelf and put it along the wall. It was ready to be stocked with the stacks of DVDs that neatly stood next to the TV stand. That would have to wait. They both needed to get ready for work.

 

Cas felt lighter than he had in a very long time. Even Meg could not ruffle him tonight. She had been poking and picking at him all evening and Cas just took it or picked back. Realizing she was not getting him riled up, she came over to stand by the short counter that held the dirty dishes by the sink. 

"What's got you so light in your loafers tonight, Clarence?" She questioned, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Nothing!" He laughed, stacking another plate on a very tall pile.

"I think it's his new shirt," Dean laughed.

Meg pushed Cas back a step from the sink, looking at his faded blue shirt. "Blue Oyster Cult?"

Cas shrugged.

Dean laughed again. "He doesn't know who they are yet, but he's gonna like 'em."

"How do you not know who they are?" Meg asked with exasperation.

"He was sheltered. Like, lived under a rock," Dean clarified.

"Hmm," Meg said, her eyes roving over Cas' chest hungrily. "And let me guess, Dean is teaching you all his little tricks."

Cas started to argue with her but Dean beat him to it. "Don't be jealous, Meg."

Meg turned an arched eyebrow on him with a surprised laugh. "Don't tell me, Deany-weany, that I have to make all the girls cry and tell the world you've joined the gay side!"

"Hey!" Sam and Cas snapped.

"Just kidding," she grinned, getting the rise she had been searching for all night.

"Leave him alone," Cas warned quietly.

She smirked and shoved a stack of cups into the water, sloshing water all over the front of Cas' t-shirt.

"Oops!" She laughed, backing away.

Cas glared at her and grabbed a towel, trying to soak the water up with it.

Meg disappeared back to the front and Cas tossed the wet towel down. "I'm going to take my break."

He stopped in the hall as Ellen came up to him.

"Cas, I can't thank you enough for asking Gabriel to help us out. Between him and Ash, you might all get raises! And I saw the notes on the files you brought back. I can’t believe that slimy bastard was skimming money off of me! I never would have caught that."

Cas smiled. "I'm really glad we could help. Crowley needs to be taken down."

She patted his shoulder, heading back toward the bar. Cas continued out the back door and sat on the bench that ran along the back of the building. He fanned his wet shirt away from his belly, trying to air-dry it. His head was tipped back with his eyes shut. Evening was setting in and daylight was thin, leaving everything washed out in grays. He heard a noise in front of him and picked his head up, his easy smile fading.

April approached him. Her face looked pinched and angry. "Hello, Castiel."

He sat up straighter, forgetting the damp shirt. "April, what are you doing here? You can't be here."

"I just came to talk to you."

"But the police-"

"The police overreacted," she said in a rush, sitting next to him on the bench. He stood up immediately. She stood again, putting her hands in the pockets of the thin jacket she wore. 

"Just one minute, Castiel," she insisted. "You left and the next thing I know I'm being served with protection from abuse papers! I think I deserve a minute of your time!"

“You tried to set me up for vandalizing the Roadhouse!”

April gave the bar a disgusted look. “You could work somewhere better anyway. This place is a dump.” Her face softened, looking at Cas again. “I’m really sorry. It was wrong. I won’t stay long. I just wanted to talk. Just for a minute.” She gave him a pleading look.

Cas stopped backing up. She looked so worried and hurt. He hated that she was making things so difficult. He stepped closer to her. "The restraining order wasn't my idea," he admitted. "The police thought you were acting like you might try to hurt me."

"Why would I hurt you? I love you!" She said in a shaky, frantic voice.

Cas shook his head at her sadly. "April, I told you before, I do not love you."

April's face went back to the pinched and angry look.

"I never loved you. I will never-"

Cas clenched his hands around April's hand, which was holding the handle of a knife. The blade was buried in his abdomen and a searing pain burned inside him.

"No one will ever love you like I do!" She said through gritted teeth. She wrenched the knife back out and backed away. Her frantic anger started slipping as Cas fell heavily onto the bench again, blood blooming on his shirt and dripping onto the gravel at his feet. Cas gasped and felt the world teeter. April looked horrified and ran. She got into her car and peeled out of the parking lot, leaving Cas alone in the darkening night. 

Cas wanted to get up. He wanted to yell for help. But his body was like a rag doll. His hands clutched helplessly at the bleeding wound in his abdomen.

The back door opened and Dean came out.

"Hey," he said, sitting next to Cas. It was dark enough that Cas' wet shirt probably only looked like wet fabric instead of bloody fabric.

"Man, it's hot as hell in that kitchen tonight. And I think everyone in Fremont ate a burger.”

"Dean," Cas said weakly.

Dean looked over at him, his thoughts dying on his lips at the pleading look on Cas' face.

"What? What's wrong?" Dean said.

"My-" Cas tried to move his hands.

Dean looked down at his hands. "You're really wet," Dean said. He reached over and his hand slid along Cas' blood soaked hands.

Dean jumped up to his feet. "Is this blood?" he panicked.

"April," Cas managed to say before everything became too hard to do.

"Cas!" Dean yelled. "Cas!"

He sounded so concerned, Cas thought sluggishly.

Dean's warm hands left him and he heard him yelling. Suddenly there were people everywhere. Lots of voices, lots of hands.

"Cas! You open your eyes, damnit!" Dean was yelling. He really was so bossy sometimes.

Cas fought to open them, seeing Dean in front of him, pale and angry.

"That's it! Keep those eyes open," Dean encouraged, smiling. It was a fake smile though. Cas knew it. 

Lots of colored lights spun, making him feel dizzy and he shut his eyes.

"No sleeping, Cas!" Dean said. "You wake up, damnit!"

Cas grimaced. He was cold and heavy. So heavy. He pulled his thousand-pound eye lids open. Dean was crying. Why was he crying? It looked so wrong on him. His face was happy. Freckles and smirks. Not streaked with tears.

People in uniforms took Dean's place. They were moving him and it hurt. His stomach hurt. He remembered April and her hand on the knife. It had happened so quickly. He had not even seen it coming. She had stabbed him.

Like a dream, he was on a stretcher now. An IV was being placed in his arm and it hurt. He reached to stop the pain and was stopped by firm hands.

"Hurts," he managed to get out.

"It's okay, Cas," Dean said beside him, he was the one holding him back. "They have to put an IV in."

"Fuckin' hurts," Cas mumbled.

"Watch what the fuck you're doin’!" Dean snapped over him, glaring at the mean men poking Cas’ arm. 

He squeezed Dean's hand, feeling him squeeze back.

"Castiel," Dean said so seriously that it broke through his wall of haze and panic. He was hovering above him again. Their eyes met. “Just hold on to me.”

Cas groaned but stopped pulling away. He held Dean’s hand tightly. It was like holding onto a tree limb while the rest of the world tipped sideways, slipping away.

"M cold," Cas whispered.

Dean's hand reached up and feathered through his hair, while his other held his hand tight. "You hang on, Cas. You gotta fight. You fight like a ferocious angel, you hear me?"

"Don cry," Cas tried to say.

"You fight, Cas!"

Cas meant to nod. His chest was suddenly too tired to breathe anymore. Blackness crept in and swallowed him.


	7. Break Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here comes the fluff...

Chapter 7. Break Time

 

Cas had the sensation of feeling heavy and light at the same time. His body felt so heavy he could not move it, but as light as a floating feather. 

His eyes blinked heavily; bright, blinding light making him squint. After an on and off battle of wills with his own eyes, he finally opened them. He was in a hospital bed. One arm was strapped to a board and an IV  
ran into it. He turned his head slowly, looking at his other arm. Bandages covered a sore spot. But more fascinating than that was what his hand was buried under. Dean was holding his hand and his head was lying on top of it as well. He breathed softly, his eyes shut, but puffy. 

He flexed his fingers gently, holding onto Dean's warm hand.

Dean blinked and sat up, bleary eyed. "Cas!" he said weakly.

"Dean," he said, his throat very sore and dry. He coughed slightly and winced at the pain in his abdomen.

"Oh, don't cough," Dean fretted, turning to get a few ice chips. "Here." He put a small, slippy piece of ice in his mouth. His finger drug slightly on his lower lip and the pair shared a brief but heated look. He remembered doing the same to Dean and how damn good it felt. Such a strange little move to spark such an intense feeling.

Cas dropped the gaze first, his eyes moving to Dean's hand still holding his. 

"If I let go," Dean grinned, "will you leave your IV alone?"

Cas swallowed, the ice giving his throat a small, cool trickle of pain relief. He nodded gently, not really wanting Dean to let go.

Dean smiled and gave him a light squeeze. He slipped his hand out and leaned back in the chair he had been perched on. 

"You're okay now," Dean said, sighing heavily. 

Cas tested his heavy arms by moving them slightly. The arm with the IV felt like a thousand pounds and he gave up. The other flexed and moved, but his bandaged elbow hurt. He lightly laid his hand on his abdomen, feeling a mound of bandages beneath his hand.

"Don't," Dean warned. He nervously reached for his hand but did not take it. 

Cas slid his hand away from the bandages and took Dean's.

Dean took his hand, looking relieved. "You sure gave them a fight," Dean laughed tightly.

"You told me to fight," Cas whispered, wishing he had more ice.

Dean's face broke into a grin. "You remember that? You were...it was pretty touch and go for a little bit. You lost a lot of blood."

Cas just watched Dean's face, mesmerized with how happy he looked now.

"You were crying," Cas whispered, coughing and wincing again.

"Yeah, well, you were dying, so..."

Cas opened his mouth for more ice as Dean read his mind and slipped another piece in. 

Cas' lips closed on Dean's fingers, their eyes meeting again. Cas grinned, his tongue lightly flicking the tips of his index finger and thumb.

Dean huffed a laugh, pulling his hand away. "You're on a lot of meds right now, buddy."

Cas closed his eyes and savored the salty aftertaste of Dean's fingers. The thin ice melted quickly, cool water sliding down his aching throat. Dean kept talking to him in his soft, low voice, but Cas could not stay awake. He hoped he was smiling because he felt ridiculously happy right now.

 

==================

 

Dean rolled his aching shoulders and arched his back in an attempt to stretch without actually moving.

"You can relax," Gabe said, grinning a dopey smile at him.

Dean rolled his eyes. It wasn't the first tease he'd gotten from Gabe this morning. "Yeah, well, watch this," Dean said quietly as Gabe stood up, looking at Dean's hand holding Cas'. Dean let go and slid his hand a few inches away. They both looked up as the peaceful look on Cas' face clouded over. His eyebrows knit in concern and his mouth frowned. His breaths came quicker. Gabe gave Dean a questioning look. He took Cas' blessedly warm hand back into his. They watched again as Cas' face relaxed and his chest fell into an even rhythm again.

Gabe smirked. "Aw, well that's just precious. My brother gets stabbed behind a bar and wakes up as an Omega in the hands of his Alpha."

Dean smirked but had to laugh. "How is it possible that your brother barely knows who Superman is, but you can reference Alpha Omega shit?"

Gabe shrugged. "I've been off the reservation longer, I guess."

“Well, I’m the one who insisted they take that board off his arm. So I have to make sure he doesn’t wake up and rip out another IV.”

They all winced at the thought. He had done just that while in recovery after the surgery.

Dean shook his head and looked down at Cas who had started blinking. He had done this several times this morning, blinked and tried to wake up, but couldn't stay awake longer than five minutes.

"Wake up there, sparky," Gabe said, rubbing Cas' calf through the blankets on his side of the bed.

Cas blinked and turned his head and finally, those blue eyes peered out bright and clear. Dean released a breath he did not know he was holding. 

"Mornin' sunshine!" Gabe grinned down at his little brother.

"Gabe," Cas whispered, wincing.

Dean got an ice chip and offered it to Cas. He took it, his blue eyes sliding over to his. 

"Think you can wake up for a little bit?" Gabe coaxed cheerfully.

Cas nodded. His eyes stayed open this time and he took a deep breath, squeezing Dean's hand.

Realizing Cas was awake and he was still holding his hand, Dean let go and gave him a nervous smile. At the loss of touch, Cas looked at him sadly. Dean stood up, taking a much needed bathroom break while Gabe talked to him. 

"I'm glad you remember everything," Gabe was saying when he came out of Cas’ bathroom. Cas' blue eyes followed him as he crossed the room and stepped out into the hall, waving at a nurse. "He's awake," he said, knowing they were anxious to assess him.

Dean went back in the room and took up his seat at Cas' side. Cas watched him like a puppy the whole way.

“You look a little better,” Dean nodded, his eyes skirting away from Cas’ shyly.

Cas lifted an arm, frowning at the IV. “Is this necessary?”

“Uh, yeah,” Gabe frowned. “You lost a lot of blood, Cassie. They had to do blood transfusions and you have antibiotics and pain meds running in there.”

“Oh.” He looked at the bandage on his other arm. “What happened here?”

“You ripped your first IV out. You were giving the nurses a really hard time there for a little while. They put in a new IV and had to strap that arm to a board. But Dean pretty much took care of your other arm. Otherwise, they were going to restrain you,” Gabe explained. Smirking.

Cas frowned. His hand traveled slowly down the blankets, stopping on the stab wound site.

“You have internal and external stitches,” Dean explained. “But you’re all put back together now.”

Cas nodded, frowning down at the area, pulling his hand away.

"I want to sit up," Cas said weakly.

Dean looked at Gabe, who shrugged. "I don't know if you can do that yet, buddy," Dean said, grinning reassuringly. "The nurses want to check you out first."

On cue, two nurses and the doctor who did the surgery came in the room. Dean and Gabe backed up, letting them get closer to Cas.

"I'm gonna call the cops, since he’s awake," Gabe said. “They might finally be able to get a statement.”

"Ask for Sheriff Mills," Dean suggested. "She's good people. And she worked with Cas on setting up the PFA against April in the first place."

"Will do," Gabe nodded, stepping out.

Dean looked around the nurses, seeing Cas take a deep breath with a worried look on his pale face. His hair was a crazy wreck and some of that had been Dean's own doing, trying to calm him down when he was thrashing around with the medics. 

Cas winced sharply and Dean stepped closer, wanting to slap whoever had just done that. "We need to do another CAT scan to be sure, but I think everything is okay. If all goes well, Mr. Novak, we'll have you out of here by tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Dean asked. "He was stabbed! He almost died! You think it's okay for him to go home tomorrow?!"

The doctor smiled reassuringly at Dean. "As long as he has someone to look after him, he'll be fine, once we know for sure all the bleeding was stopped. His vitals look good so far."

Dean raised his hands in surrender, but could hardly believe that would be possible. 

"We'll stop the Morphine and see how his pain level holds up. That will tell us a lot too. Don't worry, we'll have your...friend patched up and out of here in no time."

Dean nodded, glancing down at Cas.

"Can he sit up, he asked to earlier."

"Just to pain tolerance," the doctor said, then looked at the nurse. "Monitor BP before and after."

She nodded and moved to get the blood pressure cuff.

"Do you still want to sit up?" Dean asked, standing at his side again as the doctor and one of the nurses left.

Cas nodded and Dean moved to the end of the bed so the nurse could take his blood pressure. She seemed satisfied with it, Dean's hand clenching into fists as his face winced with the blood pressure cuff tightening. She raised the bed until Cas waved a hand. She took his blood pressure again. Dean noticed he was breaking out into a sweat. She seemed satisfied to Dean's horror, and took the cuff off. "Let me know if you need anything," she said brightly, walking out of the room.

Dean glared at her back as he retook his spot. He lowered the bed a few degrees and Cas exhaled, his face relaxing. Dean grabbed the edge of the blanket and dabbed sweat from Cas' forehead. "You okay?" He asked, searching Cas' face for signs of stress, pain, or fainting.

"I'm okay, thanks," Cas whispered. 

"Dumbasses," Dean said, looking at the doorway. "They need to be more gentle and pay attention."

Cas grinned and took Dean's hand. He sat down, ready to hold his hand while he slept. "Calm down, Dean," Cas whispered.

Dean relaxed his shoulders and squeezed his hand. 

A cafeteria worker came in with a lunch tray, removing his untouched and cold breakfast tray. She gave them a friendly smile, heading back out of the room.

“Lunch,” Dean grinned. “Looks like chicken and rice and jello.”

“No,” Cas frowned, still somewhat stiff in his bed.

Dean looked back at the tray. None of it looked too appetizing. “There’s coffee. And milk.”

Cas shook his head with a firm frown.

“No coffee?” Dean asked, squeezing Cas’ hand with worry.

He shook his head again.

"You want some ice?"

Cas nodded, his frown softening slightly. Dean turned, fished out two slivers of ice and put them into Cas' mouth. He watched with pleasure as Cas' body relaxed again. To his surprise, Cas kept his eyes open this time. He seemed much more awake.

They sat there quietly a few moments.

"Do you remember talking to me earlier this morning?" Dean asked.

"Yes," Cas said hoarsely.

Dean nodded. He wondered if he remembered all the details that Dean would never get out of his head. Cas had actually licked his finger tips. Licked them and grinned. The sensation had gone straight to Dean's dick. He had berated himself for an hour after that, getting turned on by a guy in a hospital bed seemed ten shades of douchey. 

"Do you remember last night?" Dean asked gently.

"Yes," Cas said, staring straight ahead. "April stabbed me. You found me." Cas turned that radiating gaze onto Dean, making him blink and squirm. "If you hadn't come out there, Dean, I think I would have died."

"Cas," Dean scolded, not even liking the possible thought being said aloud. 

"Thank you, Dean," Cas said with sincerity.

"You're welcome, Cas." Dean squeezed his hand gently. "You scared the shit outta me."

Cas nodded. "I made you cry," he said, looking so sad.

"Hey, quit bringing that up, would ya? I thought you were dying!"

Cas grinned, squeezing his hand back. "You were yelling at me. At everybody."

"Yeah, well, people are stupid. And you seemed to be having trouble hearing me. So..."

"You're so cute when you get tough and defensive."

Dean blushed. Cas was on a lot of meds. He might not really remember anything. He definitely did not have a filter.

"Shuddup," he chuckled.

"Mr. Novak?" Sheriff Mills said, startling both of them. Dean noticed her eyes linger on their hands for a second. "Do you remember me?"

"Yes, Sheriff Mills," he answered. 

"Good," she grinned. "First of all, I want you to know that we have April in custody. Dean told us that you said her name, so we went to apprehend her. She was trying to leave, attempting to pack a bag. We have the knife also. I just want to make sure you feel safe."

"I do, thank you," Cas said nodding. Dean felt him squeeze his hand a bit and he blushed, knowing Jody Mills was standing there watching them. He had known Jody all his life. She was friends with his parents. Shit, she had babysat him and Sam countless times. He was definitely going to have to explain him self. She noticed every damn thing.

"I'd like to get a statement from you," Jody said.

"Yes, that would be fine," Cas said quietly.

"Mind if I send your boyfriend out of the room so we can have some privacy?" She grinned.

Dean glared at Jody. Great. She was gonna rag on him forever about this. He rolled his eyes, but stopped short when he saw the look on Cas' face. Cas was giving Jody a serious look. He was contemplating. His grasp tightened on Dean's hand, making him frown.

"Yes, that would be fine," Cas said in a small voice, his hand letting go.

"Hey," Dean said, waiting for those blue orbs to meet his own. "I will be right outside that door. And Jody looks tough as nails, but I promise she won't bite."

Cas grinned, looking away sheepishly. "Okay."

Dean stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind him. He leaned against the wall and watched as Gabe and Sam made their way down the long hall. They both had their hands full and were talking easily. They stopped at the corner, laughing about something. Gabe was looking up at Sam, coming to a stop in the hall. Sam took a step toward him, kissing him. The kiss was firm enough to make Gabe back up a step without losing contact and Gabe giggled.

Dean raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Moving kinda fast, aren't we?" Dean said loudly.

Gabe looked away, grinning and Sam rolled his eyes. They came closer and Dean realized there was take-out food in their hands and his stomach gave a loud rumble. 

"Thought you were in the room, drooling over my brother," Gabe smirked.

"Hey, he's in there with the police," Dean snapped, unable to hide his defensiveness. "He didn't even want me to leave! He was stabbed-"

"Dean," Sam said, stopping him in his tirade, "Gabe was kidding, relax. We're all here for Cas."

Dean huffed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, yeah. I know. Sorry."

It seemed like a small eternity before he heard the handle of the door click.

Jody opened the door and stepped into the hall, closing it behind her. 

"Are you Gabriel Novak?" Jody asked.

"I am," Gabe said, shaking her hand.

"Your brother is a very sweet young man. I'm sorry all this happened."

Gabe nodded, not looking mollified by the apology. "Is she in custody?"

"Yes. She is. Will he be leaving town with you any time soon?"

"Not right away,” Gabe smirked. “But you can find him at Dean’s when he gets out of here."

She nodded. "I need him to come down to the police station in a few days to finish up a few things. One of you should probably come with him. He's fairly shaken up."

Dean did not need to hear another word. He went into the room and closed the door. Cas was struggling to adjust himself in bed and wincing and sweating with every move.

"Hey, hey," Dean said, jogging over to the bed. "Let me help."

Cas puffed out a breath and averted his eyes from Dean. "I just wanted to sit up."

"Alright, okay, don't get your knickers in a twist, Angel."

Cas stilled in the bed, a hard frown marring his beautiful face. His eyes were red-rimmed. What the hell had Jody said that made him cry?

Dean pulled the sheet down and put one arm under his knees and one behind his back, lifting him up a bit. He pushed the button to raise the bed a bit more until Cas made a face.

"Down?"

Cas nodded.

Dean lowered it a tiny bit and Cas relaxed. Dean shuffled and fluffed pillows, shoving one under his knees even. He pulled the sheet up and the blanket too. He helped him situate his gown so it wasn't pulling and Cas finally settled. His face was still sullen and Dean wanted to ask, but the door opened and Gabe and Sam came in.

"Hey there, Cassie," Gabe grinned. His smile faltered seeing the look on his face. He sat his bags on the table and sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Cas seriously.

"What's the matter, Castiel?" He asked solemnly, pushing some unruly locks of hair down.

"Nothing. I'll be fine." Cas' answers were tight and his eyes stayed on his hands.

Gabriel gave Dean a curious look but Dean shrugged his shoulders.

"I brought you something to eat," Gabe said.

"I'm not hungry."

"Well, I see you haven’t touched your lunch. And I know you slept through breakfast.” Cas gave Gabe an empty, unmoved look.

Gabe shook his head. “You always were difficult when you were sick.” He offered Cas the yellow jello. 

Cas glared.

Gabe sat it down. "He was so stubborn. When he was in eleventh grade, he got mono. He drug around for a month before he would let our mother take him to the doctor."

Cas rolled his eyes.

"He was dehydrated, had lost a good bit of weight, and his spleen was so swollen by then, he ended up in the hospital. It took me and Anna taking turns to stay with him so he would stop trying to leave."

"Well, I'm starved," Dean said, opening a bag, "what did you get?"

"Breakfast burritos and cheeseburgers. Breakfast and lunch. Whatever strikes your fancy, Dean-o."

Dean pulled out a burrito and sat down in his chair. Gabe tossed Sam a burrito and he went for a burger. "Cas?" He asked.

Cas just shook his head, looking slightly miserable.

Gabe went to sit beside Sam as they ate.

Dean bit into his burrito. "S not bad," he said, mouth full. "I make better."

Cas slid his eyes over to Dean.

"What? I do."

Cas grinned a little. Just one corner tilted up, but Dean took it as a huge victory. He took another bite, Cas watching him. He plucked a ball of scrambled egg out of the burrito. He looked at Cas, who looked at him blankly. He leaned forward, blocking Gabe and Sam’s view. He held the egg up to Cas’ mouth, Cas parting his lips automatically. He put the bit of egg in his mouth, not avoiding the press of his fingers to Cas’ lips. 

Cas chewed slowly and swallowed. Dean grinned. "It's not half bad, is it?"

Cas said nothing but his face relaxed a bit. Dean wanted him to smile. Wanted him to feel good. He was so happy he was alive. He took another bit of egg, putting it up to Cas’ mouth. Cas hesitated, frowning, and started to shake his head no, but Dean drug his thumb across Cas’ bottom lip. His eyes widened slightly, his mouth opened and his head stilled.

He accepted the bit of egg with a look of wonder.

Dean pulled his hand away. "Are you having a lot of pain?" He asked quietly.

"No," Cas whispered.

"Then eat some fucking eggs and quit stressing me the fuck out."

Cas scoffed, turning his head away but smiling. "Fine."

Dean handed him the rest of his burrito, smiling when he gingerly took it.

Dean leaned in and said in a low, gruff voice, "Don't make me feed you the whole thing, cuz I will. And you might not enjoy it as much as the ice chips."

Cas' eyes widened slightly and he started picking at the insides, eating it bit by tiny bit. 

Dean sat back satisfied, opening another one and eating it, trying not to watch Cas like a hawk.

If he had to flirt, he could think of a lot of less pleasant ways to twist a man's arm into recovery.

He ate most of the insides, handing Dean back the tortilla and paper. Dean threw it in the trash with his paper and sat back down. 

The nurse came in to take Cas for the CAT scan and he insisted he was fine to go alone. Dean hesitated at the door.

"Whew," Gabe whistled low.

"What?" Sam and Dean asked.

"You got it bad, Winchester," Gabe said, watching Dean.

"Knock it off. He was stabbed!" Dean defended.

"Yeah, we know," Gabe laughed. "And I thought you were straight. I mean, really," he said, looking at Sam. "Both of you scream tough-guy with your plaid and jeans and boots, but I thought for sure Cas was a lost cause on you, Dean. Guess I was wrong."

Dean sighed heavily, sitting in the chair. "I never saw anything like that in my life. Gabe, I thought he was bleeding to death in my hands. There was just so much blood." The memory haunted him. Warm, sticky pools of blood everywhere. Watching the life drain out of him. Limp arms falling to the ground. A look of fear that faded to..."I told him to fight. And I swear to God, he did. He had to have."

Gabe let out a slow breath. “I thought I had lost him. Again.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “They said...well, you heard them. It was a close call.” The last bit came out in a whisper. He looked as haunted by last night as Dean felt. Sam put an arm around Gabe’s shoulders.

“He’s gonna be okay,” Sam said low. “It was bad. But he’s okay now.”

Gabe nodded, wiping the far away look off his face and replacing it with a shaky grin. "Yeah, well, stitches and a couple of pints of blood..." Gabe said, shrugging. "He’s gonna be fine," he grinned.

Dean paced the room, stretching his back and legs. Cas was okay. Flashes of his blood soaked shirt and pants that he had taken off when Sam had brought him a change of clothes went through his mind. The blood that washed down the drain from his own hands and arms made him shake his head. Cas was fine. He stopped when he caught sight of Gabe and Sam watching him with twin smirks. “What?” He snapped defensively.

“Welcome to the club. There’s no membership cards or anything,” Gabe smirked, “but if this isn’t the most desperate crush I’ve witnessed since Doctor Sexy and the EMT guy...”

Sam snorted a laugh. “He loves that show.”

Gabe threw his hands up. “Case closed. Closet door ripped off the hinges.”

Dean stood there blinking. Huh. He sat down heavily in the chair and thought about being with Cas. Maybe they were on to something. Okay, if he was totally honest with himself, he had thoughts about Cas that he never had about other guys...but had had about women. Right now he just wanted to hold him and make him better. Except when he fed him ice chips. Okay, so Cas was the first guy who had ever really given him a full-fledged hard on. Except that one episode of Dr. Sexy. Well, maybe he was more like Sam than he thought. It was a weird thought. And at the same time...he was pretty damn comfortable with it. Not that he was admitting shit to those two knuckle-heads who thought they knew everything. He watched the pair interacting. They were so comfortable with each other. It was crazy to him how Sam could just...jump into a relationship and be so okay with it. Maybe it was because he knew what he wanted. His relationships had always been rocky. He was always ‘distant’ or ‘not as into it’ as the girl. So...huh.

Dean watched the door. It was fairly obvious to himself that he knew what he wanted now. He hoped he had not chased Cas away too much before to have screwed things up totally. The guy was willingly holding his hand. That was a good sign. Unless that was just fear and needing some one. As in, anyone.

The nurse wheeled Cas back in an hour later and took him into the bathroom. He came back out, a bit later, wobbly on his own two feet. He had brushed his teeth and gotten washed up a bit. His hair was still messy. Why was that so damn cute on him?

"Hey," Gabe said, jumping up to steady him and walk him over to the bed. "You're like Hannah after she smells a beer!"

Cas grinned and Dean figured it had to be a family joke. He fussed over Cas' blankets and bed position until he was settled. He looked wiped out. 

"I should go," Sam said, "you look pretty tired, Cas. But I sure am glad you are okay."

"Thank you, Sam," Cas said, his voice sounding better.

"I'll go with you, Sam. Let these two relax a bit," Gabe winked. Cas merely blinked but Dean gave him a Winchester bitchface.

"Dean," Cas said, looking at him. "I'm doing much better. You should go get a nap before work tonight."

Dean laughed. "Yeah, I don't think so. I called off already. You're stuck with me."

Gabe and Sam waved, closing the door behind them.

Cas gave Dean a nervous look.

"What's up, Cas?" Dean said, leaning forward.  
Cas twisted his mouth into a hesitant frown. "Dean, thank you for all you have done, but I am okay, really."

Dean looked down at his shoes. "If you want me to go, I will. But Cas," he looked back up at him, "I'm not really ready to leave you. I feel better being here. If I go home, I'm gonna worry my head off."

Cas smiled in a broken kind of way, his eyes tearing up.

Dean was on his feet in a second. "What is it, Cas? What has you so upset? Am I being too much? I'll go," he said stepping back.

"No," Cas whispered hoarsely, coughing. "Please stay."

Dean grinned. Feeling more confident, he stepped back up to Cas' side. "Now see, was that so terrible? You say stay, I stay."

"I'm really tired," Cas whispered.

"Okay," Dean nodded. He was starting to read Cas' body language pretty well. His shoulders were hunched and eyes skirting from surface to surface. He wanted something and didn't want to ask for it. He reached his hand over, taking Cas'. Cas immediately relaxed. Dean had an idea.

"I'm gonna turn the lights off. So you can take a nap."

Cas nodded letting go of his hand.

Dean walked over to the switch by the door, turned the lights off, made sure the door was shut, and came back to the bed. Cas looked more than tired. He looked sad.

"What?" Cas asked sleepily.

Dean scrubbed a hand over the back of his head. Cas looked so worried. So strained. Dean just wanted to make him feel better. And Cas seemed pretty unwilling to ask for anything. He was going to have to take a leap here. A leap for himself and Cas both. "Can I lay with you, just for a little bit?" Dean asked. 

Cas' face lit up, "I would really like that."

Dean pushed his boots off and crawled in gingerly, staying on top of the covers. He was relieved he was right about what Cas wanted. There was still something going on in that head of his that Dean couldn’t piece together. Maybe it was fear. Maybe it was shock. Dean figured if he was going this far, he might as well do what he really wanted to, so he got down, got under the covers and moved Cas gently where he wanted him. Cradling Cas' head on his arm. Cas melted into him after a minute of adjusting. Dean realized how tired he was as his forehead touched against the side of Cas' hair. It tickled his nose and made him smile.

His hand adjusted the blankets for them and finally came to rest over Cas' wrist.

"Is this okay?" He asked.

"Yes," he barely heard Cas whisper, but felt Cas intertwine their fingers. 

He had to steady his breath. He was holding Cas. Holding a guy. His stomach fluttered high up to his throat. His heart thudded so hard he was sure Cas could hear it. Or feel it. He took a slow breath, marveling at the feel of Cas’ strong hand in his. The strength gradually lessened as his body went limp against him.

"Are you okay, Cas?" Dean asked quietly.

No response came. Dean rubbed his thumb lightly along Cas' hand. He thought Cas must be asleep until he heard him say in a quiet voice, "April tried to kill herself."

Dean sat up, looking down at Cas. "What?"

Cas frowned, not meeting his eyes. "Part of me doesn't even care. But most of me just feels sorry for her. It makes me wonder what I did wrong to confuse her so badly."

"No, no," Dean said, sliding back down, Cas more on his back now. "There is something wrong with her, Cas. It's not you. You gotta know that."

Cas nodded, but still wore a worried frown. "She tried to slit her wrist when the police came in to get her. She was here, actually, while I was in recovery apparently."

Dean put a protective arm around him. "She's not here now, Cas. She's going to jail."

"I know," Cas sighed, "it just really bothers me that she is so obsessed with me. I told her time and again that we weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend. She never listened to me."

Dean hugged him tight and they settled in. 

“She kept telling me she loved me. I kept telling her I did not feel the same.”

Dean could feel him take in a ragged breath and he wiped a tear off his cheek. “That’s not love, Cas. There’s something wrong with her.” He wanted to do more, say more, but he was lost for words or what to do. “That’s not love. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Cas’ breathing evened out and he finally started to relax again.

"Try to sleep, Cas," Dean whispered. He wanted to kiss him, make him forget about that crazy bitch, April. Cas took his hand in his again and grinned. 

"I had no idea you were a cuddler," Cas smiled.

"I'd deny it," Dean yawned, "but I am."

Cas rubbed his thumb along the edge of Dean's hand. Within minutes, they were both out.

 

====================

 

That evening, Cas was feeling better. His head was clearer, but his pain was higher. He got up and took a walk around the second floor of the hospital with Sam. As long as he did not cough, he was okay. The pain was like a dull heat with a radiating ache. It killed his appetite. The thought of April trying to kill herself rather than be taken to jail had bothered him more than anything. But then the most incredible words he ever heard were spoken...Dean asked to get in bed with him. He had wanted to gasp and giggle and act like a total teenager about it, but he thought he had managed to keep his cool. And it had felt beyond amazing to fall asleep in his arms, his warm, steady breath on his neck and his arms around him...it had been heavenly. He had felt considerably better ever since. 

Gabe brought dinner for them, Cas could barely manage to eat though. He tried. If only to stop the worried look on Dean's face. The doctor came in just as Dean was telling a story about Sam and his friends and their nerdy exploits. 

The doctor approached the bed. "Would you prefer privacy?"

"No, go ahead," Cas said.

"Your CAT scan results came back fine. There is no more bleeding. How the blade managed to miss your intestines is beyond me. Everything is looking really good. I would send you home now, but it's late."

"I'll go," Cas said, trying to sit up and wincing.

The doctor held a hand out. "Once I have okayed your surgery site tomorrow morning, then you can go. Not before."

Cas sighed. "Alright."

As the doctor left, Gabe and Sam got to their feet. "Well," Gabe said, "I best be heading out. I still have a lot to do for Ellen."

"How's that going?" Cas asked.

"It's...tricky. That Crowley had a devilish way with words. But I think I have several loopholes to get her out from his contract."

"Good," Cas breathed a little easier.

As the pair left, Cas looked at Dean. "You should go home and sleep, Dean. I'll be fine."

Dean scowled. "No way. These people barely know what they're doing."

Cas laughed softly. "I had no idea you would be such a worry-wart."

Dean shrugged, sitting back in his chair and propping his feet up on Cas' bed. "I'm good."

"I'm so tired," Cas admitted. 

"Yeah, it's late, go to sleep."

Cas was moving better than he had been. He moved over to one side of his bed and patted the empty spot next to him. "Watch some TV with me?"

Dean gave a shy grin. "Sure, okay." He kicked his shoes off and put them out of the way. He got in, like before, fully clothed and sat next to Cas, their shoulders touching. Cas handed him the remote. "Find us something to watch."

Dean took it, flipping channels. "How about Arrow?"

"Never watched it," Cas said. "Tell me about it."

Dean turned the volume up so they could hear it. He gave Cas the back story of the characters as they came on.

"Felicity is my favorite," Dean grinned.

Cas nodded. He listened and watched, curling up to Dean as if this was something they did every day. He laid his head on Dean's shoulder and rested an arm over his lap. He smelled like the leather in his car. Laced with woods and hospital antiseptic. He was sure he, himself, did not smell so hot, but couldn't really care at this point. His eyes drifted, watching the landscape of Dean’s body more often than the TV. He listened off and on to hear and feel the gentle rumble of Dean's low voice. 

During a commercial, when Dean had gone quiet, Cas asked, "Are you really staying the night?"

"Yep. Right here, unless you get too crowded. Then just tell me and I will move over to the chair."

Cas hugged his arm a little tighter. "This is perfect."

He could feel Dean's breath against the top of his head, felt his chin move his hair gently. "Yeah? I think so too."

Cas' fingers curled into the soft fabric of Dean's flannel shirt. He was so warm and steady. His heart thudded in his chest, making him feel slightly light-headed. What was happening? Whatever it was, he was not going to question it. Not right now. Right now he was safe.


	8. Pay Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for all the kudos and comments! And most of all to shellz, you keep such a good eye on everything!
> 
> Dean’s got a lot to learn. Cas has a lot to teach him.

Chapter 8. Pay Day

 

Cas blushed for the tenth time that morning. Dean was being ridiculous. He was fretting over every detail. It was kind of adorable. 

After his surgery site had been poked and prodded, he had been discharged. Dean looked as relieved at him being let out of the hospital as Cas felt. 

When they got back to the apartment, Cas settled on the couch and Dean made him some soup for lunch.

Cas ate it hungrily, making Dean smile. "That is the best soup I've ever eaten in my life," Cas said, handing him the empty bowl. 

"Good. Thought I might have to resort to force feedings soon."

"Are you going in to work tonight?" Cas asked, trying to ignore the thought of Dean anywhere near his mouth.

Dean hesitated at the sink. "Nah, Ash can handle another night."

"Dean!" Cas said, getting to his feet, "I will be fine."

Dean did not look convinced. “I know...but-“ 

"Dean Winchester," Cas laughed, "I will be FINE. And I can get a nap and be ready to go through DVDs in the morning when you get up."

Dean glanced at his cell phone. "I don't want to go," he said quietly.

Cas tilted his head, and gave Dean a sad smile. "I'll be fine."

Dean sighed. "Okay."

Cas sat down again, watching Dean move around the apartment. He acted like they were boyfriends. Like he really mattered to him. In the light of day and the reality of being back in the real world, Cas was not sure what to make of Dean.

They had slept together. All night. He wished he could remember more of it, but he actually slept really well. But he remembered being held. And God it felt good. What he could not gauge was whether Dean felt responsible or scared from the crazy scene behind The Roadhouse, or was he really developing feelings for him?

He hated to get his hopes up.

 

************************************

 

Dean made sure there was jello and pudding and left over soup for Cas before he left. He really did not want to go in to work and leave Cas alone. But he knew Ellen was short handed. He drug himself to work and willed the night to go by quickly.

He was freaking himself out a bit by this point. He ran a hand through his hair as he walked in the back door at work. He could not stop thinking about Cas. What was he doing? Was it just his own fear making him want to hold onto Cas so fiercely? Was he REALLY falling for him?

A laugh burst out quite unexpectedly at that thought. He clamped a hand over his mouth. He schooled his face into a more neutral one as he entered the kitchen. He tied his apron on. Jo was prepping for him tonight. She was chattering away about something. 

Cas. He might like Cas. Like...holy shit. He started prepping the grill in a daze.

Holy shit.

“Dean! Earth to Dean!” Jo yelled.

“Yeah?”

“You have five orders hanging there!” She frowned at him. “You okay?”

Holy shit.

Dean snatched the first ticket.

Huh...well...shit.

“I’m good.” He shook the shock and awe from his brain, putting his mind and hands at work. He would have to figure that mess out later. He grinned as he put three burger patties on the grill and started fries and Mozzarella sticks.

Several hours into his shift, Crowley showed up, smarmy as usual. Ellen promptly kicked him out and called Gabe. Gabe showed up ten minutes later but Crowley was already gone. Ellen seemed more than happy, saying Gabe got free drinks for life. 

Dean sped home, wanting to let Cas know about Gabe's winning night and just to check on him in general.

He unlocked his door, going in quietly.

"Hi, you're home early," Cas said. 

A barrage of stress melted away instantly. Cas was okay.

In fact, he looked pretty damn good. Dean tore his eyes away, trying not to stare. He was toweling off his hair, no shirt on and wearing the bumblebee pajama pants. The bandage took up too much room on his abdomen. "You got a shower?"

"I tried," Cas said, letting the towel drop onto his shoulders.

"Your bandage is pulling away at the top," Dean said stepping closer to inspect it.

"Yeah, I tried to keep it dry but it was difficult. And I really needed a shower."

Dean nodded. "I think I should change it."

Cas nodded, both of them inspecting the large square.

"Just let me wash my hands and I can change it."

Cas frowned slightly. "I didn't mean to put you to work as soon as you walked through the door."

Dean grinned. This was not work. "No problem. We'll get this out of the way and then we can chill."

"Alright," Cas said, gathering his bandage supplies. 

"Let's do it in my room," Dean suggested. "Just put that stuff on top of my dresser.”

He washed his hands and re-read the discharge notes. He walked in his room and found Cas stretched out on his bed. No shirt and pajama pants riding low because they were slightly too big on him. He looked good enough to eat. 

Okay, there was another first. First time the thought of another guy's dick in his mouth was appealing. 

Yeah...REALLY appealing. 

All the jostling thoughts that had plagued him during work came to an abrupt halt. He was going for it. He liked Cas. Like, REALLY liked Cas. There was no reason to not see where this could go.

Cas looked slightly nervous. Dean grinned down at him. "Whatcha look so nervous for? I won't bite."

"Biting I'm okay with, poking around on my stomach is what has me nervous." Cas grinned and a blush flushed his face and neck. 

Dean could not stifle the mix of a laugh and a groan that slipped out. He could feel his own face heating with a flush. He took his flannel shirt off and Cas looked at the ceiling, blowing a breath out.

He used sanitizer on his hands and went to work peeling the bandage off. He pulled the gauze away carefully, cleaned the area, and applied fresh medicated bandages to it. He trimmed the new bandage and taped it into place. He tried to be as careful as possible. Cas never even winced.

"You should be a nurse. You did that way better than any of the nurses who changed it," Cas marveled, grinning up at him.

"Well, that's because I care." He busied himself gathering all the dirty bandages and materials, putting them into a plastic bag to throw away.

Cas' face turned serious as he watched. "I don't know what I would do if I didn't have you, Dean."

"Oh, Gabe woulda taken good care of you too," Dean said, feeling awkward suddenly.

Cas snorted a laugh. "Yeah, that woulda been weird."

"But this isn't?" Dean asked, helping him sit up. Trying not to think about how warm and smooth his skin felt.

"No, surprisingly," Cas said.

"Good. Now, let's go look at my DVDs, unless you are ready for bed."

"I'm good. I slept a lot while you were at work, but if you're too tired, I understand."

"I'm good!" Dean grinned, walking out to the living room, Cas following him. "But I do want a shower first."

 

Dean came out of his room wearing the hamburger pajama pants Cas had picked out and a green t-shirt. Cas was nowhere to be found. "Cas?" Dean called, trying not to panic.

"Out here," he heard Cas say.

Dean went to the open window. Cas was sitting on the fire escape with his tattoo book again. The emergency lights on the fire escape gave just enough light to make out the pictures.

"How did you get out here?" He asked, crawling out and sitting next to him. It was a snug fit side by side.

"Painfully. It may have been a bad idea but once I was half way through there was no going back."

Dean shook his head. Cas was going to give him gray hair.

"What is all this, Dean?" Cas asked, turning a page.

"This is my tattoo portfolio."

Cas looked at him, their faces only inches apart. Dean could see every variation of blue in his eyes. 

"You did these tattoos? And the drawings?" He asked with awe in his voice.

"Yeah," Dean chuckled. "I love tattooing. It's art."

Cas looked back at the book and turned back a few pages. "You drew that?" He asked, pointing to a dragon that looked like it was climbing up a woman's arm.

"Yeah. That one took a long time. Julie, the woman that has it, isn't too pain tolerant. I had to keep stopping."

Cas smiled at him with a look of wonder. "It's beautiful.” His eyes locked onto Dean's.

"Thanks," Dean could barely manage to speak. His breath caught as Cas reached over, sliding a finger along his lady in white. Chills ran up his arm and over his shoulder from the touch.

“So, you drew these?”

“I did. I went to a friend of a friend’s in Lincoln. He did almost all of these for me.”

Cas let his hand linger a few minutes before pulling it away.

"Last time I was looking at these, in your book, I wondered, but never dreamed you were talented like this. I wanted to ask, but..."

"Yeah, well, last time you were looking at this I wanted to crawl out here and sit with you, but Sam was cockblocking me." Dean fought the urge to look away with shyness, but he wanted Cas to know.

Cas' mouth opened, but nothing came out and it quickly closed again. Dean watched the blue in Cas' eyes get slimmer as his pupils dilated. 

"Dean," Cas said in a low voice, his eyes skirting away and jumping back, "I thought you were straight."

"Yeah, me too," Dean said, no humor, only his will holding him back from leaning in two inches to kiss that mouth. Dean's eyes dropped to Cas' mouth and the memory of his tongue flicking across his fingertips flooded a wave of desire that made his head spin and his breathing quicken.

Cas quirked a small grin.

"What?" Dean asked in a strangled, small voice.

Cas shook his head slightly, leaned in and kissed him. It was warm and soft and Dean thought his heart would beat out through his chest! He kissed him back until Cas pulled away. God, he smelled good! He felt good. Their eyes opened again and Cas looked flushed and beautiful. Dean knew he was staring, but he couldn't stop. The angle had been slightly awkward with too much shoulder and arm to work around. He had just kissed a guy. It was like everything inside him finally lined up correctly. 

Dean turned toward him a bit, putting his arm behind Cas, Cas doing the same. Dean leaned in this time, needing more. Warm and soft lips met his and Dean's hand found its way to the back of Cas' neck, pulling him closer softly and tilting his head to kiss him deeper. He slid his tongue through the thinnest parting of his lips along Cas'. His mouth opened with a soft moan and Cas’ hand gripped Dean’s outer thigh. Dean delved deeper, Cas willing and meeting every swipe with his own. They pulled apart, breathing heavily.

"Damn," Dean muttered.

"Was that okay," Cas asked in a rushed whisper.

"That was...tasted like more," Dean breathed, leaning in and kissing Cas harder. Cas opened easily to him, matching his speed and fervor. It was so different from anything he had ever done. Girls didn’t feel like this. He smelled better. Tasted better. Felt better. Firmer. And there was a slight graze of stubble that sent a lightening bolt of excitement through him.

Dean pulled back panting, Cas doing the same. It was better than good. It was fucking magical. 

"I wasn't sure," Cas said, searching his face.

"Me either. But I've been pretty damn sure for the past few days," Dean grinned.

Cas grinned back. 

"Let's go in," Dean said, leaning forward again and kissing him. "I can't believe I can just...do that."

"What?" Cas chuckled.

"Kiss you," Dean said, catching Cas' lips as Cas leaned forward this time. He could feel an increased strength behind this kiss. His heart skipped a beat when Cas’ tongue slid along his lip, seeking entry. He parted his lips this time and Cas delved in. It felt strange and amazing. Cas' hand was in his hair, fingers clenching softly and Dean moaned, tilting his head and welcoming him more confidently. 

Fading back to a modest kiss, they stopped, giving each other shy smiles.

Shit. That was even more different! Someone taking the lead like that. Taking over a kiss. Yeah...he wanted to try some more of that.

Dean got to his feet, holding a hand out for Cas. Cas gingerly stood, handing Dean his tattoo portfolio. 

A curious look came over Cas' face. "Was Bela talking to you about getting a tattoo?"

Dean laughed. "Yes. Is she what made you storm out of the kitchen the other night all pissed off at me?"

"I didn't storm," Cas said with obvious guilt.

"You did. You stormed," he laughed again tossing the book inside and crawling in, hiking the window up as high as it would go. 

"I thought you were going to hook up with her. Have you?" Cas asked, awkwardly crouching, one hand on his bandage.

Dean tipped him the rest of the way inside, scooping him into his arms and putting him on his feet.

"Bela? No. But I may have been flirting. It's kind of our thing."

Cas took a steadying breath, wincing as Dean closed the window.

"Don't worry. It means nothing." He watched as Cas straightened up and relaxed.

"I guess I was...jealous," Cas said quietly. "Not that I had any right to be."

Dean grinned, shaking his head. "If it makes you feel better, you can watch when I do her tattoo. Her husband Glen will be there, so we can make it a party."

Cas blushed and looked away, biting his lip. "I'm not usually a jealous person. But it was hard to watch. Knowing how I felt about you and thinking how straight you were and that I never stood a chance."

Dean's smile slid away. He cradled Cas' head in his hands, marveling at how gorgeous he was. "You had a chance the second I saw you. I just never dreamed any of this could happen." He kissed him softly, slower. He bit gently on Cas' lower lip when he felt his hands settle around his waist. 

"I've never been with a guy," Dean said, pulling Cas in for a hug.

Cas wound his arms tighter around him. "I know. And if you change your mind and get freaked out, please just be honest and tell me."

"Aw, Cas. Holding your dying body made me freak out. I'm over being freaked out. That much I know for sure."

 

===================

 

Cas sat on the couch gingerly, having already stressed his wound to the max for one night. He felt it burn and throb as he settled back and took a deep breath. He watched as Dean brought a stack of movies over and sat them on the coffee table.

"We'll start with horror movies," he said, sitting down and handing him three.

Halloween 1, 2, and 3, the originals. "I've seen these."

"Really?" Dean asked, surprised.

"What? I like horror movies."

"Good to know," Dean smirked. He put them on the shelf and Cas wondered how he had gotten here. He was in Dean's apartment. Dean had slept with him all night last night. They had kissed. And it had been mind-blowing. He listened while Dean talked about movies, but he was a bit awe-struck with the fact that he was the first man that had ever kissed Dean. The long hours of holding his hand in the hospital had formed a sort of bond between them. At least, in Cas’ mind.

It turned out that Cas had seen all but two of the horror movies Dean owned. They were put on the top of the bookshelf for later viewing.

"No making fun, but next category is rom-com."

Cas had seen about half of them. One of them, The Princess Bride, went to the top of the 'Cas-must-see' pile on the shelf, per Dean's say-so. Cas found it adorable every time Dean got worked up about him not having seen something.

"Now, I know you are severely lacking in this department," Dean said. "Sci-fi and superheroes."

Cas had seen not a single one of them, except the Harry Potters and Star Wars.

TV series were even worse. Apparently he was slightly dysfunctional to even walk out the door without having seen Dr. Sexy, Firefly, Legend of the Seeker, Merlin, and The Walking Dead.

"I feel overwhelmed," Cas said, seeing the high stacks on top of the bookshelf.

"It will be an act of kindness to have done this service for you," Dean laughed, sitting on the couch. "And I must say, the fact that you have seen all the Star Wars just bumped you up a level."

Cas laughed, holding his stomach. It was strange feeling so happy and in so much pain at the same time.

"Is it time for your pain meds?" Dean asked, sitting up.

"Is it midnight yet?" Cas asked.

"Yep."

"Then yes."

Dean got him a glass of water and his pills. "Want to watch one of those?" Dean asked, nodding toward the towering stacks.

"Yes." Cas took the pills and grinned as Dean plucked 'Princess Bride' from the top and put it in.

"I could slap your mother for ruining your childhood by depriving you of classics like this," Dean said, sitting next to him.

Cas raised an eyebrow. "Get in line."

 

=================

 

The movie started and they moved around a bit until they were laying together on the longest section of the couch, covered with a light blanket. 

Cas watched with interest and Dean marveled at the feeling of Castiel Novak laying partially on him, warm, open, and safe. He was snuggled in tight to Dean's chest. They started out holding hands, but Dean’s quickly began to wander within a few scenes. Cas closed his eyes and breathed deep when his hand slid under his shirt and slid along his side, avoiding the bandage. It was so different. No curves, like he was used to. His sides were straighter, more muscular. His hand kept lingering right at his hip. The feel of it, similar to his own, made him want to strip Cas naked, take him to bed and just explore his body. It all felt brand new and exciting in a whole new way. He was mesmerized at how his touch made Cas relax. His eyes were still closed and he was smiling.

He glanced at the TV, hearing one of his favorite scenes. He laughed at the ridiculous character and Cas opened his eyes again. He looked back at Cas, giving him a guilty smile. "What?"

Cas inched his way around, facing Dean on the couch, chest to chest, their legs intertwining. 

"Now, how are you going to watch the movie?" Dean grinned, as Cas bit his lip with a guilty grin.

"Someone won't let me concentrate, so I might as well stop fighting it."

Dean flexed his arm, bringing Cas to him in a tender kiss. He was absolutely addicted to his mouth. His hands, his skin. Everything. "Want me to leave you alone?"

"No," Cas said between kisses.

Dean increased his efforts, hearing a low moan from time to time from Cas. God, he could kiss. And every kiss just felt better and better. Like life suddenly made sense. Cas ran his hand up under Dean’s shirt, kicking him up another gear. Feeling his hands against his skin made him shiver. No sharp nails. Blunt nails raked down his back just firm enough to spark something deep inside him. Dean pulled back slightly, sucking in a breath as Cas slid his hand around and down to his hip. 

“Take your shirt off,” Cas whispered, leaning in and kissing Dean's neck, sending a frenzy of shivers through him. He turned his head, chinning Cas away from the sensitive skin.

Dean looked at him a moment, Cas’ blue eyes searching his face. He pulled himself out of the tight space Cas had him pinned into, straddling him as he went up on his knees and pulled his shirt off, tossing it.

There. Bare skin. They were losing clothes. Dean’s heart rate picked up at the oncoming possibilities.

"Your turn," he said. There was no flirtation. It was hunger. Dean wished he had jeans on to better hide the raging erection he was massing.

"You might have to help me," Cas whispered. Dean took the bottom hem of his Metallica shirt and slid it slowly up, his hands mapping his sides, feeling his ribs just under his skin. He pulled Cas forward, levering him up and pulling the shirt up his back and over his head. He tossed it aside, his eyes taking Cas in like a starving man at a baker's window. Cas reached up, running his hands down Dean's chest. Every new touch had his head reeling. 

“I have wanted to see you...like this,” Cas said quietly, his eyes trailing his arms, looking at the tattoos, “since the second I met you.”

Dean grinned, sitting back a bit and holding his arms out. He watched as Cas’ eyes traveled from one hand all the way across to his other hand. He settled back over him.

Cas’ hands slid around and up his back and down, pulling Dean down to kiss him, his hands rubbing slow, with steady pressure to match the deep, slow kiss he was receiving. It was intoxicating and their kisses became demanding. 

"My God," Dean sighed, sitting back, his arms shaking slightly. "You have got to be the sexiest person I have ever met."

Cas grinned, turning away. "It's the bumblebee pants," he laughed.

"Dude," Dean grinned, "I can't even think about your pants or I'm gonna lose my mind."

Cas looked back at him. "You're gorgeous, Dean." 

Dean smirked but it slipped away quickly as he bent down to kiss him again. Again their kisses became demanding quickly. Dean pulled back, looking down Cas' body. "I'm so worried I'm going to hurt you."

"Come here," Cas said, scooting over to the edge and letting Dean slide back between him and the couch. He could tell that Cas wanted to press closer to him, but the wound at his abdomen was making him keep his distance. But their hands could roam and they could kiss even better in this position. 

Cas took the lead this time, leaning up on his elbow and kissing Dean. He pulled back, searching his eyes. "Do you want me to slow down?" Cas asked.

"Fuck, no," Dean said, lunging up and catching Cas' mouth hard. It felt so good to have someone so strong. Someone who could push him a little, handle the bump of tooth or harsh nip of teeth. 

Cas pushed him down, pressing harder, demanding kisses into him. His hand raked down Dean's back and he was starting to lose it. Dean’s hand fisted into Cas’ hair, pulling him impossibly harder into the kiss.

The pull on his hair made Cas rock his hips forward, their hard dicks colliding for the first time. Cas gasped, his chin tipping up as pure pleasure ramped through his body. Dean pulled back as well. A hard dick had just hit his own. He looked down, shocked at the mini explosion of pleasure it produced.

"Fuck," Dean growled, rocking his hips into Cas' in response. "You're so fucking hot," Dean mumbled, his mouth leaving a blazing, wet trail of biting kisses down Cas' neck. Dean's hand pulled his hip in closer to him, their dicks rubbing and bumping.

"Fuck," Cas gasped, clinging harder to him. Dean slid his hand around grabbing his ass cheek and he groaned loudly, his head falling back, giving Cas access to his mouth and neck again.

"God, I want you," Cas said, biting and sucking down Dean's neck.

Dean groaned again. Cas wanted him! His brain was short-circuiting. He wanted Cas! He could feel wetness between them from their leaking cocks. "What do I do, Cas?" He panted, pressing their hips together tightly.

Cas looked as beyond thought or reason as he felt. All he wanted at the moment was more. More skin, more touch, more mouth, more everything. And yet, he calmed his frenzy to a brief, slow pulse of his hips. He ran his hand down Dean's back and down to his ass, grabbing a cheek and squeezing. "Fuck," he panted, giving him a wild eyed, pleading look.

Cas slid his hand up and beneath the waistband of his pants and boxers to the smooth skin beneath. "Is this okay?"

"Everything is okay, Cas," he gasped, barely recognizing his own voice.

Cas pushed at his pants until Dean pushed them down, then helped him with his own. He was careful to avoid Cas' bandage but his hand quickly landed on Cas' penis, feeling it with a firm, gentle hand.

Cas kept their mouths together, but kissing was difficult to concentrate on. He reeled at the feeling of another man’s dick in his hand. It was so similar to his own, but absolutely different. Hot, thick, long, so, so, hard. He stroked it, watching Cas’ face as his head lolled in pleasure. He stroked several times, slightly awkward but compensating quickly. "So hard," he muttered.

Cas slid his hand around and took Dean into his own hand, grinning when Dean gasped and did a full-body arch into him.

"Aww, fuck," he whined, his head craning back. 

"You're hard. Hard as a rock," Cas said into Dean's ear.

“Oh my God that feels good!” Dean looked at the pair of dicks in Cas’ hand, baffled at how fucking good it felt every time their heads nudged together, or their long shafts rubbed.

"What the-" Dean gasped faintly, pressing into Cas' hand and his dick and moaning.

"Cas..."

"So hard," Cas groaned, "and so hot."

He stroked long sweeps, finding a rhythm and watching Dean arch into it.

"You're fucking beautiful," Cas panted, stroking.

"Fuck!" Dean whined again, hips rocking, sweat making them slip beside each other. Dean's body began shaking and he could feel Cas following suit. 

"You've got a dirty mouth, Angel," Dean ground out, trying to look at him, trying to kiss him but unable to coordinate.

"Yeah?" Cas panted, his eyes widening with expectation and thrill. He stroked faster, their heads rubbing together, slipping in leaking precome. "Next time, I'm gonna suck your dick until you come," Cas panted, biting Dean's earlobe.

"Fuck! Cas!" Dean yelled, bucking into him.

"Come on me Dean," Cas panted. Dean's dick throbbed, seeking the firm squeeze Cas was giving, cum burst in between them, slicking their penises. Dean rocked forward and arched back in a silent, body-wracking scream. More cum pumped, sliding hot between them. Dean realized with a gasp Cas had come and another gasp escaped him at the thought. Cas moaned low and his hand slowed to a stop, panting and falling back on the couch. 

Together they rocked and slid and came down, gasping for air. Dean kissed him, however sloppy it was, it was heart-felt and passionate.

Slowly, they unwound and their heads dropped to the couch in exhaustion and bliss.

"That was so fucking good," Dean mumbled.

Cas began moving, wiping his hands and abdomen with his discarded shirt. He was wiping up THEIR cum. The thought made him giggle. 

That was leagues ahead of any hand-job he had ever had. His eyes popped open with a huge grin, looking over at Cas. He leaned down, kissing his shoulder, neck and mouth. 

Cas kissed him back, holding the shirt over his bandage.

"That was...I fuckin’ liked that," Dean said.

"You are more than I ever dreamed of, Dean Winchester."

Dean kissed his mouth firm, but chaste and laid back.

"Dean," Cas said, running his fingers through his hair. "I really hate to ruin the mood, but I got a problem here."

Dean got up on his elbow, looking down at Cas. “What? I did something wrong, didn’t I. I-“

“No,” Cas laughed softly, shaking his head. “You are...unreal. It’s me...I seem to have...torn something.”

Cas lifted the t-shirt away.

Dean’s eyes widened. The bottom of Cas’ bandage was tinged red, blood oozing slowly. 

“Oh my God!” Dean jumped up, hiking his pants up. “I’m so sorry! Shit!”

Cas shook his head. “Dean,” he said calmly, sitting up, “I’m okay. I think I just pulled some stitches loose.”

“I hurt you!” Dean stepped back in shock.

Cas was on his feet in a heartbeat. “I’m fine.” He put a hand on the back of Dean’s neck, pulling him into a kiss. “Now, can you help me get cleaned up and we can get this fixed.”

 

===================

 

Dean sat in the familiar chair next to the exam table Cas was laying on in the ER. The doctor examining the wound asked, "How did this happen?"

Dean blushed. The entire couch scene flashed through his mind and he looked down at his shoes.

"I guess I over-exerted myself. It seemed okay at the time," Cas said, gritting his teeth as the doctor prodded.

"I think we can stitch you up again, but I’ll warn you, it’s going to be quite unpleasant."

Cas huffed. "I have a high pain tolerance. I just want to go back home."

Dean looked up at him and grinned slightly. The thought of Cas wanting to be back at his little apartment so bad, made him feel warm and fuzzy inside.

The doctor gave him a considering look. "I’ll be back shortly."

"Thank you," Cas said, laying his head back.

Dean could kick his own ass for ending up back here. Holding Cas’ hand and sitting at the side of his bed. He should have been more careful. He should have waited. But...the chemistry he had with Cas was like nothing he had ever experienced before. It was so big and so strong that he could think of nothing besides Cas. And now he had hurt him. His head dropped down onto their laced fingers.

“Are you blaming yourself for this?” Cas asked, nudging him slightly.

Dean sat up, giving him a level look. “Yeah.”

Cas grinned. “Stop that.”

Dean sighed.

“It was worth it,” Cas grinned.

“It-“ Dean was going to say it wasn’t worth him getting hurt. But it was damn hard to regret any of it.

Cas gave him a more shy smile. “Think you’d...”

“Do it again?” Dean leaned in, guessing what Cas was going to say. “Oh yeah.”

Cas grinned, looking more reassured. “Yeah?”

“Oh definitely.”

Half an hour later, two nurses and the doctor were back to stitch him closed again. Dean stood by the head of the bed, holding Cas' hand. Though he squeezed his hand like a vice grip, he did not move a bit. They were done and discharged by 4am.

Dean helped him sit in the car and came around to the driver's side.

"Let's keep this little escapade to ourselves, shall we?" Cas grinned, biting his pain down.

Dean laughed. "Yeah. Let's not share the fact that the first time I make out with a guy, I literally ripped his guts out. It's kinda a turn off."

Cas huffed a laugh. "Well, when you put it like that..."

It was a slow march up the steps. And Dean felt so bad that Cas was in more pain than he had been. 

Once inside the apartment, Dean steered Cas straight back to his bed. "You're sleeping in here. I'll sleep on the couch."

He saw the disappointed look on Cas' face. "Unless...you want me to sleep with you."

Cas sat on the side of the bed heavily. "You don't have to."

"Cas," Dean said softly, sitting down next to him, "I want to, I'm just really worried I'll hurt you."

Cas grinned. "It was worth every stitch."

Dean shook his head, "Get in, I'll be back in a minute."

He locked the door, turned the lights out and changed into pajama pants. The Harry Potter ones with cauldrons and lightening bolts. "I knew you were a geek when you picked these pants out."

"They are hideous. Only you could make them adorable," Cas grinned. His hair was a tousled mess and he had slid over toward the wall, making room for him. Dean had a t-shirt in his hand, but seeing Cas had no shirt on, he tossed it back in the drawer and got into bed. As they found a comfortable position, Dean wondered how he had ever slept without him. And knew he never wanted to sleep without him again. He could not imagine Cas living somewhere else. The thought triggered his old panic buttons, but Cas would run his hand down his arm or card his fingers through his hair and the triggers would fall away. They fell asleep in minutes and slept until Cas woke him up at 10:00am.

"Sorry," he mumbled, warm and rough in a morning voice that went straight to Dean's dick. "I gotta take some pain meds and pee."

Dean got up, helping Cas up. As he went to the bathroom, Dean got his pills and water. Cas took them and got back in bed, Dean following him. They slept another two hours until Dean's stomach woke him up demanding to be fed.


	9. Mandatory Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh yeah, wasn’t this story about the Roadhouse? Yeah, let’s get back to that! :)

Chapter 9. Mandatory Meetings

 

Dean clocked in, heading into the kitchen to start his shift. He flipped the grill on and began his food prep rituals. Sam was there a few minutes later, prepping his table and chopping salad and vegetables.

"How's Cas?" Sam asked.

"Okay. Still having a lot of pain. Not moving too fast, but he's good." Dean took his first ticket and put three burgers on the grill and prepped for a grilled cheese.

"That was pretty crazy. The whole thing."

"Yeah," Dean said. He didn't like thinking about the night Cas got stabbed. All the blood. Cas getting pale and cold and then lifeless. "How's Gabe?"

"Uh, good," Sam said, busying himself.

"You two, uh, hooked up, I guess?" Dean asked, looking back to watch his brother's reaction.

He grinned at the rolls he was preparing. "Uh, yeah. I know it's kinda crazy. But we just really hit it off."

Dean grinned. "Yeah. He's your type."

"How's that?" Sam smirked.

"Older. A lawyer. Laid back. I don't really know much else about him, but I could tell right away."

Sam was watching him now, his mind churning with something. "I guess. I mean, he's not my type too. He's kinda flashy sometimes. A little arrogant. And he's so far ahead of me, ya know? Done with school and already out there working. I feel so...behind."

"You're not behind!" Dean scoffed. "You do you, Sam. Don't let some guy come in and change your plans."

"I'm not!" Sam assured him. "It's just, when we're together, it feels so right. Then when we're not...I worry."

Dean flipped his burgers and put the grilled cheese on. "So you want like a relationship with the guy?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Yeah."

Dean shook his head. "You're movin' pretty fast, Sammy."

"I know."

Dean slid the grilled cheese onto a plate, handing it to Sam, then did the same with the burgers.

"How's our angel?" Meg asked, tacking a ticket up for him.

"He's gonna be fine," Dean said.

"So, you two besties now?" She smirked.

"Yeah," Dean laughed.

"Really?" Meg asked, seeming surprised. Sam just grinned down at his work.

Dean glanced back at them, "Well, yeah. The guy damn near died in my arms! Kinda bonds you for life, ya know?"

"Uh huh," they both echoed, more to it than what either of them were saying.

"So, yeah," Dean continued, watching them, "and we may have made out."

Meg's jaw dropped. Sam laughed, "I knew it!"

"What?" Meg balked. "The ladies man of Fremont has switched teams?"

Dean shrugged.

"Who's switching teams?" Came Gabe, jauntily walking through the back door with Ellen on his heels.

"Dean," Sam grinned. "I told ya! You owe me."

"What?" Gabe asked, eyeing Dean suspiciously but not looking surprised. "I pegged you for experimenting a little slower. You boning my little brother?"

"No," Dean winced. Ellen looked a little surprised, but said nothing. "You boning mine?"

Gabe wiggled his eyebrows. "I don't kiss and tell, Dean-o."

Sam rolled his eyes, blushing. 

"There are other people out there besides my staff, ya know," Ellen said to the entire group.

"What can I say, Ellen, you have excellent taste when hiring," Gabe snickered.

"You know he's barely a legal adult, right?" Dean said, glaring jokingly at Gabe.

"Dean!" Sam snapped, embarrassed.

"Not from what I've seen," Gabe said, sending Sam a wink.

"Uuuhhh," Meg and Dean groaned.

Ellen covered her ears and headed for the bar.

Dean busied himself at the grill while Gabe came to talk to Sam. Gabe had no inhibitions about showing affection in public. The way he sidled up to Sam, who had gloves on and couldn’t touch him back, told a lot about the pair. The way his hands landed on Sam with some familiarity said what he already knew. They had already slept together. Their hushed voices were brief but the eye contact was pretty smoldering. 

Gabe stepped away from Sam, clearing his throat. "I've been summoned for a meeting with this Crowley creep," Gabe said. "Hey, Dean-o, sling me a burger, would ya?"

Dean wanted to not like Gabe, with his expensive clothes and lawyer-like background. But he had a way of annoying him and making him laugh at the same time. "Comin' up, Gabriel."

It didn’t help that Gabe had witnessed him at the hospital in one of the most vulnerable positions he had ever been in, in his life. He had seen him with Cas. Normally, Dean would have fought all those feelings away, at least saving it for a more private moment. But...there was no waiting when it came to Cas laying helpless in a hospital bed. And to make matters worse, Gabe had called him out on it. And been right. On one hand, he wanted to be pissed how easily Gabe had nosed his way into his business. On the other hand, he wanted to thank him for giving him the kick he needed to be braver about Cas.

Gabe came closer, watching Dean work. "Talked to Cassie just a little while ago. He seems quite happy."

"Yeah?" Dean asked. "You want cheese, onions, mushrooms, what?"

"Yeah! Sounds so good. I'm starved. Anyway, I just wanted to say," he leaned in so only Dean could hear him. "Thank you for being good to my baby bro. He's been through hell, ya know?" Dean nodded. "But if you break his heart, I will kill you."

Dean smirked. "Likewise," he said, looking him in his eyes. "I won't just kill ya. I'll fuckin’ ruin you."

Gabe grinned and Dean smirked back. "Just so we understand each other."

Dean nodded. "So, what if he breaks my heart, Gabriel? Then what?"

Gabe eyed Sam and Dean could tell that he was wondering the same thing. "Guess it was nice knowin’ ya."

Dean huffed a laugh. "Right." Dean flipped the burgers, giving Gabe a more serious look. “I’m not experimenting, Gabe. I really do...like him.”

“Oh I know you do,” Gabe grinned. “Otherwise, I woulda chased you away by now.”

"What are you two pow-wowing about?" Sam asked, worrying.

"Big brother stuff, Samsquatch. Nothing to worry your pretty head about," Gabe said, sending Sam a winning smile. Sam shook his head.

Gabe sat at one of the work tables to eat his burger. After two bites he swallowed and gave Dean a very serious look. "This burger is heavenly. I take back everything I said. And if Cas ever dumps you, I will gladly take you on as a second husband."

"Hey!" Sam yelled.

"I don't think so. You're not my type of angel, Gabriel," Dean laughed. "I'm pretty happy with the one I've got."

"Lucky bastard," Gabe grumbled.

"Hey!" Sam said, throwing a roll at him.

Gabe blew him kisses and Sam shook his head.

Gabe froze, mid-bite of his burger, as Jo came through the bar door in a flurry. "We're having a meeting people! This is it. The bastard actually showed up!"

Ellen walked in, Crowley in tow, sporting his ever-present three-piece suit and shitty grin. He slid his briefcase onto the work table Gabe was eating at. 

"Kitchen's closed until this meeting is over," Ellen said, nodding at Dean. 

Dean turned the grill off and wiped his hands on his apron, stepping up to the table.

"Well, isn't this cozy," Crowley grinned, his eyes looking malicious. "I'm Crowley, you've all seen me around, I suppose."

"They have," Ellen said, hurrying him along.

"Would you like them to hear my proposal?" Crowley smiled at Ellen, his eyes lighting up this time.

"Absolutely," Ellen smiled back tightly.

Crowley opened his briefcase. "Will this new lawyer I've heard about be joining us?"

"Here!" Gabe said, mouth full of fries.

"Lovely," Crowley smiled coldly. 

Ash came in the back door and swaggered up to the table, sitting his laptop down and cracking his knuckles, "Did I miss anything?"

"Not so far," Dean said, giving Crowley a less-than-impressed smirk.

Meg and Rufus came in, leaving Lisa to handle the front, since she was leaving the Roadhouse soon anyway.

"Ellen and I will soon be going into business together," Crowley announced. "This will be our new sign."

He slid an 8x10 drawing of Harvelle's Roadhouse with a new sign that read "Crowley's Bar and Grill".

No one touched it. Dean stood up taller, crossing his arms over his chest. This guy was a douche.

"These will be the waitress uniforms," Crowley grinned, sliding another 8x10 of a low-cut V-neck t-shirt with Crowley's logo on it.

"Yeah, I don't think so," Meg smirked.

"Skank much?" Jo said, glaring at Crowley.

"Your choice of mini skirt to go with it," Crowley grinned. "I was thinking leather or denim, your choice."

Gabe snorted a laugh at Meg's lethal glare.

"You will all need to sign new working contracts, of course," Crowley continued, pulling out a stack of papers. 

"This is a hoot and all," Gabe said, grabbing a contract off the top of the pile, reading over it, "but I'm gonna have to stop this little dog and pony show."

Crowley grasped his hands, politely in front of himself, giving Gabe a withering look. "Do you have something to add?"

"Yeah," Gabe said, pushing his plate away. "For one, that was the best fucking burger I've ever eaten, Dean." Gabe gave Dean a grin and turned back to the contract. "B, this contract is ridiculous, like all your bullshit paperwork."

Crowley glared.

"And seeing as how Ellen would never sign over even one share of this business to you, you are wasting your breath here."

"So, we're moving ahead with the foreclosure, then," Crowley growled.

"Negatory," Ash said. "Ellen would be doing quite a bit better if her books weren't being cooked."

"Exhibit A," Gabe said, slapping several files onto the table that he seemed to pull from nowhere.

"The Roadhouse has been steadily losing money into this account," Ash said, turning his laptop around to show evidence that made Crowley red-faced and tight-lipped. 

"I've no idea what that is," he scoffed.

"No?" Ash asked. He clicked a couple keys, "Here's where the money goes next, then here, to Fergus M. Crowley. It's all laid out, nice and easy to follow, dude."

"Who is this?" Crowley snapped at Ellen.

"Ash, my cook and dish washer," she said nonchalantly.

"This is ridiculous," he spat.

"My other dishwasher, who isn't here," she continued, "is the one that highlighted how you've been stealing money from me for years."

Gabe opened two of the files, which had highlighted lines on all of them.

"That's not MY doing," Crowley stammered.

"You signed the statements and the taxes," Gabe said with a grin. The other dishwasher noticed that the money trails there led to you. He also added up the tidy sum of $785,117 that you owe Harvelle's Roadhouse. He's clever with numbers, that little dishwasher."

Dean grinned, thinking of Cas hard at work over those files. 

"And the cook's assistant here," Gabe said, pointing at Sam, "Has some interesting notes on your current contract with Ms. Harvelle. For a lawyer, you made some illegal demands on this baby that I could really sink my hooks in, ya know?"

"Really," Crowley said dryly.

"Starting with these," Gabe said, pulling out a copy of the contract, again seemingly from nowhere, that was covered in so much red writing that it looked bloody.

Crowley barely looked at it. "I see you are going to be difficult about moving forward," Crowley said.

"Difficult?" Gabe grinned, "I think we're being pretty easy going here, Crowley."

"You'll not get anywhere with this parade of innuendoes the help is digging up," Crowley barked, taking back his stack of contracts.

"Speaking of which," Gabe added, "our cook here found some other interesting information on you, Fergus. Now is it Crowley? Or is it MacCleod?" He beamed a grin, standing and taking Ash's laptop, showing Crowley something that made him red-faced again.

"Yeah dude, whoever your hacker was, did a pretty shitty job hiding their work," Ash said seriously. It was always difficult to take Ash seriously, with his sleeveless shirt, mullet, and stoned eyes. Dean had to snicker at Crowley's look of mixed anger and puzzlement.

Crowley grit his teeth and closed his briefcase. "So, what's the plan?"

Gabe stood up. "The cook here, is gonna give Ms. Harvelle her money back for starters."

"That's not happening," Crowley assured.

"Wanna watch?" Gabe said, his tone icy with no humor. "Ash," he said, snapping his fingers.

Ash came around the table and typed away.  
"Nice thing ‘bout this little money trail is, it can be reversed," Ash said nonchalantly. 

Dean watched as Crowley's eyes followed along Ash's progress on the screen. 

"There," Ash said, snapping the laptop shut, "paid in full, Ellen."

Ellen grinned smugly. 

"You will not get away with this!" Crowley yelled. "I have people in low places that will be the ruin of all of you!" His voice ramped up an octave with each word.

"Not without going down yourself, genius," Gabe said, glaring toe to toe with the sputtering man. "My assistants here might be cooks and dish washers, but I assure you I am a lawyer and I will slay you in court."

Crowley snatched his briefcase from the table looking angry as a wet cat.

"Before you go, Mr. Crowley," Ellen said, "I want this contract ended."

"I own you," he snarled at her, "This place will be mine."

"Not in this lifetime, Buck-o," Gabe said, taking a new contract from thin air. "The cook's assistant, Sam, and I came up with this little nugget for you to sign." Gabe slapped the paper on the table.

"This is not happening!" Crowley shouted shoving the paper away.

Sam slapped a hand down on the paper, sliding it back, towering over Crowley as he stepped up to him, paper slid back in front of him. "Sign it, Crowley."

"You don't intimidate me, you big...moose!"

Gabe held a hand up, Sam stepping back.

"Okay," Gabe placated, "we'll play ball, Crowley. Here's your subpoena for court," he pulled a letter out of nowhere, laying it on the table. "Ash, move that money back, we have all the evidence we need to sink you like the Titanic you are, Crowley."

Ash opened his laptop again.

"I saw lots of other interesting tidbits of info connected to this account too," Ash said off hand. 

"Fine!" Crowley roared, Ash pausing on the keyboard. "Keep your stupid money and your bloody bar. I might have nickeled a few measly dollars here and there, but this place is going down, mark my word!"

"Sign the damn contract, Crowley and get the hell out of here while the gettin's good," Ellen snapped.

Crowley snarled as he read over the short contract. He signed it and tore the subpoena in half, throwing it at Ellen.

"You lot aren't worth the trouble!" Crowley screeched out.

"Alright, time to go," Dean said, sharing air for far longer than he liked with this pretentious dirtbag. He came around the table and steered Crowley toward the door.

"You haven't seen the last of me, Gabriel Novak!"

"Yeah, yeah," Dean said, Sam joining him to drag Crowley out through the bar, out the front door and shoved him out into the parking lot.

"Consider yourself banished from Harvelle's Roadhouse. Don't come back," Dean said. He and Sam stood and watched until his taillights were a distant memory.

"Nice work, Sammy," Dean said, elbowing his brother.

"Did pretty good for a bunch of cooks and dish washers, didn't we?" Sam laughed.

"Freakin' Ash man, how does he do that shit?" Dean laughed as they headed back through, Meg already back to serving and Rufus manning the bar.

"And you are gonna make a hell of a lawyer, Sammy."

Sam slapped him on the shoulder. "Thanks, man."

Back in the kitchen, Ellen greeted them with bear hugs and a tearful thank you. "I don't know what I would do without you boys," she sniffed.

Jo was next, hugging them and kissing their cheeks. "You guys! We did it! We saved the Roadhouse!"

Dean was flooded with pride for his friends and Sam. He picked Jo up and swung her around hollering.

"Don't get any ideas bout dating my daughter!" Ellen hollered.

"No, ma'am!" He sat Jo on the counter, laughing. "I'm taken!"

"Taken?" Jo said, "not Lisa!"

"Bite your tongue, girl!" Dean winced away. "Got me a blue-eyed angel!"

Jo's mouth dropped open and she slid off the counter, hands on her hips. "Cas?"

"He's the only blue-eyed angel I know," Dean laughed, turning the grill on.

"I don't believe it," she said in a daze. "Dean Winchester...with Cas?"

"It's true, apparently," Sam grinned.

Jo crossed her arms over her chest. "I'll believe it when I see it."

"Oh yeah?" Dean laughed, "You should come over after work. You should all come over after work and tell Cas about how we slayed Crowley! He could use a huge win like that!"

"I'm there!" Jo said.

"Me too," Sam added.

"I'm game," Gabe said.

"Well hell, I'll come and bring him a drink. We could all use a celebratory drink tonight!" Ellen said, happier than Dean had seen her in a long time.

"I'm coming," Meg pouted. "I wanna see if I can swing him back to the other team."

"You're not invited, Meg," Dean said.

"What? I'm not team Roadhouse?"

"You can come, Meg," Sam said, giving Dean a 'be-nice, jerk' face.

"Well shit, guess I'll go too," Ash laughed.

"It's a party!" Dean hollered.

"Where's the party?" Lisa asked, just walking in.

Everyone looked busy suddenly.

"My place," Dean said quieter as she tacked a ticket onto the turn-style. "You might not want to come though."

"Why, you got a new girlfriend already?" She smirked.

"No," Dean grinned. "A boyfriend."

She smirked harder, not believing him. The longer he gave her a look with no humor to it, the higher her eyebrows raised.

"Dean, are you serious?" She asked, leaning forward.

"Oh I am," he grinned, more to himself than anyone.

"Huh. Cas?" She asked.

"Yep."

She smiled, much to his surprise. "He's a lucky guy."

She walked back out and left Dean speechless.

 

****************************

 

Cas clicked to start the next episode of The Walking Dead when he heard Dean's key in the door. He hit pause and ran a hand through his hair. He was wearing pin-stripe bunny pajama bottoms and a pale blue t-shirt. 

Cas smiled when Dean stepped in grinning. 

"Hey, Cas! I brought you dinner and some company!"

"Oh!" Cas said, surprised. It was 10:30 at night and he figured Dean would come home tired. 

"Are you up for some visitors?" Dean asked, hesitating at the door.

"Sure!" Cas said, getting to his feet.

"Come on in guys!" Dean said over his shoulder, coming the rest of the way inside. Jo, Sam, Gabe, Meg, Ellen, and Ash filed in saying hello and finding places to sit in the small space.

"How are you, kiddo?" Ellen asked, hugging him gently and looking him over.

"I'm much better, Ellen, thank you."

She laid a hand on his cheek, looking him in the eyes. "You know you can call me anytime if you need anything."

Cas felt himself blush. "Thank you."

She sat down at the table and sat a bottle of whiskey on it.

Jo hugged him next. "I'm so glad to see you. You look good!" She grinned, her blonde hair bobbing in its long ponytail.

"Thank you!" He said.

"Baby bro," Gabe said, hugging him lightly. "How are you tonight?"

"Good," Cas nodded. "I've been up on my feet more today and I'm feeling sore, but better."

"Good." Gabe sat down on the couch. 

"Cas, ya look good," Sam said, hugging him. "Wait until you hear about what happened at the Roadhouse tonight!"

"What happened?" Cas asked.

"Hey, Cas," Ash said next, checking the place out and handing him a large soda.

"Thanks," Cas said, glancing around at all of them. "It feels like Christmas!"

"It sure does!" Ellen beamed.

Sam sat next to Gabe and Ash dug into Dean's record collection. 

"Oh, Clarence," Meg sighed. "I'm hearing some disturbing rumors ‘bout you."

"Such as?" Cas asked, heading over to the table where Dean was pulling food out for him.

"You hungry?" Dean asked quietly.

"A little," Cas said.

"Good, brought you a burger, fries, mozzarella sticks, and applesauce."

"Applesauce?" Cas grinned, picking up the cup.

"I noticed you always go for fruit." Dean grinned, their eyes meeting.

Cas laughed a little. It was true. And besides the burger, he wanted the applesauce most of all.

"Did you take your pain meds tonight?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, only half though, I'm doing fine."

"You sure?" Dean asked, looking at him concerned. He reached out squeezing his shoulder softly.

Cas wanted to kiss him, but not in front of his brother, both their brothers and all their coworkers.

"I'm okay," Cas assured him, stepping beside him to get a spoon from the drawer and open his applesauce.

"Sit down," Dean said gently, pulling out the second chair for him to sit with Ellen at the small table.

Cas sat, giving Dean a smile.

"Aw, aren't you two cute!" Jo teased.

Both he and Dean blushed at that.

"Whatever, blondie," Dean huffed.

"So, what happened?" Cas asked, looking around. "Everyone seems so excited."

"Crowley came in," Ellen said, unable to hide her grin.

"And?" Cas asked, his own excitement growing.

"Let me just say," Dean said, "your brother was bad-ass."

Gabe grinned and Sam put his arm around him proudly. "I was, wasn't I?"

Sam, Dean and Gabe launched into the entire tale of the meeting, Jo jumping in occasionally and Ellen nodding along.

"He saw those files you had highlighted," Dean said, putting his hands on Cas' shoulders as he stood behind him, "and his face got tomato red! He knew he was fucked!"

As the story of the meeting progressed, Cas felt like he had been there.

"Well done, Ash," he said, Ash tossing him a salute. "So, the Roadhouse is..."

"All mine, like it always has been," Ellen said proudly. "And I got all my money back thanks to you, Ash, and Gabe."

Cas smiled at Ellen. He was so glad he had helped her. It felt so good. All these people, not his normal crowd, felt so good to him. So comfortable. 

"Thank you, Cas. Without you and your brother...I don't know what would have happened to me," Ellen said seriously.

Cas shrugged, feeling the weight of Dean's hands on his shoulders. "Jo started it and Sam recognized legal problems immediately. And without Ash, the whole thing could have been dragged through court for a long time. It's a pretty incredible staff you have, Ellen."

He put the applesauce bowl aside and unwrapped the burger. They moved on to other topics and Cas managed to eat most of the burger. He passed around the fries and mozzarella sticks to share. Dean took his trash and the pair walked over to the couch to sit down together.

"Clarence, are you seriously a thing with Dean? Cuz, I have an apartment too, if that's what it takes to win you over."

Cas blushed slightly, guessing Dean had told them that they were some kind of together. 

Cas cleared his throat, taking Dean's hand in his. "Sorry Meg, I guess you moved too slow."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, I disapprove. You could do better," she smirked.

"Shuddup, Meg," Dean swatted at her on the other side of Cas.

"Just sayin', my place is bigger. Two bedrooms, full kitchen..."

"Hmm, that does sound nice," Cas teased.

"Knock it off. Go find your own angel." Dean put his arm around Cas, pulling him into his side, making Cas grin. 

"I think I'm pretty happy right here," Cas said, glancing up at Dean. His green eyes were a beautiful mix of green and gold tonight. Dean grinned at him, leaned in and kissed him.

"I need a drink," Jo said, getting to her feet. 

Dean pointed to a rack holding shot glasses on the wall and Ellen poured a round.

"To the Roadhouse!" She cheered.

"To the Roadhouse!" They all cheered back.

Everyone trickled out eventually, leaving Dean and Cas alone for the night.

 

"You look so much better," Dean said, pulling him against his chest tighter.

"Good. I'm feeling much better."

"Let's go to bed," Dean grinned.

"Alright," Cas grinned back. "Not so rough on me tonight."

Dean blanched. "I'm not so much as kissing you goodnight."

"Then why the big grin?" Cas teased, letting Dean help him up.

"Because...I like sleeping with you. Just holding you," Dean admitted, hugging him where they stood.

Cas hummed a happy response, kissing him.

Dean kissed him back, but kept it light.


	10. Opening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final Chapter!!!! I just couldn’t wait to put this out and wrap this up for everyone.  
> So, yay, everyone’s in love! But now what? Is Crowley really done? And Cas is leaving with Gabe. What will this mean for the Winchesters?

Chapter 10. Opening

 

Two weeks after Crowley's big firing, Gabe had been officially hired as the Roadhouse's lawyer. Cas was asked to do accounting on the side from dishes. A new night person was hired to take over for Cas in that regard, and everyone got a raise. The Roadhouse was doing well. Crowley attempted once to come back at them with an attack on all the employees paychecks, which Ash fixed in ten minutes, giving them all generous bonuses from Crowley's account. A cyber truce and cease-fire was called. Crowley was hurting bad. 

"You gave us all an extra thousand dollars?" Dean yelled, reading over his pay stub.

"Merry Christmas from Crowley!" Sam laughed.

"Ash, you can't do that!" Cas said.

"I can and I did, Castiel," Ash said, winking at him.

"Whew!" Dean yelled, high-fiving Sam. He ran over and picked Cas up, swinging him around. "Baby, we're goin’ out!"

"Where?" Cas laughed, Dean dropping him gently to his feet and kissing him soundly. 

"Anywhere we want to go!"

Cas snatched Dean by the top hem of his apron. "I know exactly where I want to go.” Their eyes caught and held a moment. 

"And where do you want to go?" Dean asked, running a hand through Cas' hair. 

"I," Cas said, kissing him, barely backing away to say, "I want to get take out and go home."

"Home," Dean mumbled, grinning and kissing him. "Sounds delicious."

"Ugh, get a room!" Meg yelled, making them both laugh and pull apart.

 

They went home, neither one hungry. Both were ready for bed. "You gonna put on some cute jammie bottoms?" Dean asked as they crowded over the small sink to brush their teeth.

Cas spit into the sink, wiping his mouth and looking at Dean in the mirror. "My doctor appointment went well," he grinned. "No more restrictions."

"You told me," Dean grinned. He wiped his mouth off and stuck his toothbrush in a cup. 

"Did you take your medicine?"

"Yes," Cas said, his voice dropping to a growl.

"Don't growl at me," Dean laughed, crowding him into the doorframe and kissing him. "No pajamas for anyone tonight," he said, Cas moaning into the kiss.

Dean pulled his shirt off, Cas pulling his off. Cas found himself pinned to the doorframe and cradled into Dean's warm arms. They kicked their shoes off, doing a sort of dance, bumping into each other. Dean grabbed Cas by the belt loops and steered him into the bedroom and onto the bed. 

Though they had been living together since Cas had slept at the Roadhouse and sleeping together every night since he came back from the hospital, they had not done more than kiss since the first night. Dean was adamant that Cas' stitches heal and Cas had to admit, he wanted the wound gone as soon as possible. His stitches were gone and he was in much better shape now.

Cas dropped onto the bed, his feet on the floor and Dean crawling over him. "So," Dean said in his ear between kissing and sucking his earlobe and down his neck. "I don't know what you had in mind by keeping me home tonight, but I'm up for whatever."

"Anything, huh?" Cas said, barely producing intelligible words.

Dean sat up, still straddling Cas and gave him a heated look. His hands slid down Cas' chest, around his scar and onto his belt. Slowly, with a grin tipping one corner of his mouth, he undid the belt. He spread the belt open and ran his fingers, curled into the waistband of his jeans and briefs, back and forth making Cas groan and tip his head back onto the mattress. His thumbs rubbed along the outside of his zipper, finding his swollen length beneath.

"Uhhh," Cas moaned at the touch.

"Mm," Dean grinned, watching him with obvious enjoyment.

His hands left his waistband as they slowly opened his own belt, Cas watching with a hungry grin. 

Cas ran his hands up Dean's jean-clad thighs, finding his swollen dick, and rubbed it firmly.

Dean puffed out a breath, pushing Cas' hands away as he unbuttoned and unzipped Cas' jeans. Cas itched to move, to get rid of the clothing, to have more skin to skin contact. Dean unbuttoned and unzipped his own pants, not hurrying. He got to his feet and shucked the jeans and boxers in one painfully slow push. Socks gone now too and Cas was pushing at his own pants and boxer briefs. Dean took over, pulling them off and motioning for Cas to move up so he was fully on the bed. Cas did, crawling back on his elbows and watching every move Dean made.

He crawled over top of Cas, straddling his lap again, his eyes roving with open lust. "You said you would get what we need," he said low, blushing slightly.

"I did," Cas said, he had ordered what he wanted online. He had been quite relieved Dean wasn’t home when the package arrived. He wanted to surprise Dean. "I'm already wearing one item and the box is in my drawer.” 

"You're wearing something?" Dean asked, looking more carefully.

"Well, it's your first time, so I thought if I was ready, it might be a little more comfortable for you."

"Cas, I'm comfortable with anything we want to do. Just because I'm new doesn't mean I'm timid."

Cas grinned, his dick actually jumping in response.

Dean, feeling it, grasped him firmly and leaned down to kiss him. "What's in the drawer?" Dean asked, breathing and kissing down his neck.

"Lube, condoms, and the box to what I'm wearing."

Dean's hands became firmer, pulling one leg up onto his hip. "What the fuck are you wearing?" Dean panted, his hand sliding around to Cas' ass. “You’re naked!”

They were eye to eye, their lips almost touching when Cas felt his hand bump the plug he had been wearing. His eyes blew wide and his mouth opened.

"It's a plug. I put it in when we got home from work and it's been...very distracting."

"A plug..." Dean said, fondling the end of it and seeing how it made Cas start to sweat. "You mean you stretched yourself out and put that in?"

"Yes," Cas said, his breath catching and his fingers digging into Dean's back as he tweaked the end of it, sending bolts of sensation through him.

"Do you...like it?" Dean asked, all curiosity.

"I like when you move it," Cas said, leaning up to stream open mouthed kisses on his neck.

"Fuck," Dean murmured.

They had talked several days ago about what they wanted to do. Cas was surprised at how open and ready Dean seemed to be with sex. They had known each other for only a matter of weeks. They had been together for just over two weeks. But they were both in agreement that when Cas' body was ready, they were both ready. They had gone for testing and both came back clean. They had been keeping it cool for days now and Dean seemed as ready as he was to take things to the next step. Cas assumed bottoming would be the easiest way to start, keeping things familiar for Dean. 

"Cas," Dean said, pulling back from him, "you have to tell me if you have any pain. Anywhere. Okay?"

"I will," Cas said, breathless.

"You are so fucking sexy," Dean growled, leaving the plug alone to fist his hands in Cas' hair and kiss him until Cas thought he might lose his mind.

They ground their hips into each other until Dean pulled back again, kissing his way down Cas' chest, around his scar, and licked a stripe up Castiel's throbbing cock.

"Uuuuhhhh, Dean," Cas whined.

Dean's mouth surrounded his head and Cas fought not to thrust into his face. "I can't-"

Dean slid up and down a few times, tentative and curious. He pulled off. “I’m gonna need some practice with that.”

“Anytime,” Cas grinned down at him.

He leaned over the bed, pulling Cas' drawer open. Cas could hear the plastic bag rustling as he fished out the lube. 

Sitting back up he sat the lube aside and kissed Cas again. He raised up onto his feet and hands, pulling his mouth away reluctantly. "Roll over."

Cas did, feeling Dean's mouth return immediately on the back of his neck and down his back. It was absolute heaven.

Biting on his side, making Cas squirm under him, he gasped. 

"I wanna fuck you so bad, Cas." More biting followed, making Cas moan and thrust his ass, feeling Dean's cock rub him stiffly. 

"Please, Dean. I want you. Want you so bad."

Cas gasped when Dean was suddenly at his ear again, talking low and biting his earlobe, "Tell me if I do something you don't like." He felt Dean's hand run down his side and over one butt cheek, finding the plug and pulling it gently. 

"Let me move," Cas panted. Dean lifted up and Cas pulled his knees up, keeping his head down.

Dean grabbed a pillow and tucked it underneath, Cas coming down on it, keeping his knees spread.

"Ohh, yeah," Dean grinned into his neck. "Now I can move this better." Dean pulled and pushed the plug back in. 

Cas trembled and panted out a breath. 

"You like when I move it," Dean purred, pulling and pushing harder this time. Again and again until Cas was rocking back into him. "You're so perfect," Dean mumbled, his hand running up and down his side.

Dean swirled the plug around in circles, bumping Cas' prostate and making him croon.

He leaned heavily onto his upper back, Cas feeling his chest pressing into him. "Kiss me," he said.

Cas twisted his neck, kissing Dean open and sloppy while he felt him slide his hard cock back and forth across his ass, bumping and pushing the plug. He heard the familiar pop of the lube cap.

Dean pulled away, leaving Cas dizzy with anticipation, knowing what was to come next.

Dean grabbed Cas' cheeks one in each hand. "I think you're ready for me. Are you?"

"Yes, I'm ready," Cas panted.

Dean pulled the plug, pushing it back in then fucked him with it for a full minute before it was gone. Cas whined at the loss of pressure and soon felt Dean's fingers, two of them, slide in. They were lubed and slid in slow. He knew Dean was new at this too. He relished every touch, marveling that this was Dean’s first time.

"Ohhh, Dean," Cas whined, rocking.

He slid them in all the way, spreading his fingers and soon added a third. "You're so tight, Cas."

"I'm ready! So ready. Dean. Just...just try. I know I’m ready."

Dean giggled low and seductive, Cas feeling him shift his weight and line up behind him.

"You sure?" Dean teased, sliding his slippery dick up and down his crack, bobbing at his hole.

"Fuck," Cas growled, rocking back and pulling his knees up further.

"Why do I love when you say that so bad?" Dean groaned, grabbing his hip and pressing deep and slow inside him. “Ohhh, I’m not gonna last long.”

"Me either,” Cas panted. “More," he huffed, Dean pressing the rest of the way until their balls touched, igniting a fire low in Cas' loins. He rocked and shivered. "Goooo," he growled.

Dean pulled back and pressed in, hissing. Again, hissing, again and he moaned, Cas breathing easier now.

"So tight," Dean murmured, high, "so good!"

In and out and Cas began trembling and rocking back into him, matching his rhythm. He alternated from quick sharp bursts to long, slow thrusts. Cas met him every time, coming higher onto his elbows to move more. Dean leaned low over him, changing the angle and making Cas clench his hands and groan.

"Feel good?" Dean asked.

"So good," Cas managed. "Harder!"

"You want it harder?" Dean asked, breathless and bit into Cas' shoulder and pounded quick and hard.

"More!" Cas begged, needing everything Dean had to give.

"So fucking hot," Dean cried, his rhythm faltering.

"There!" Cas called, Dean going back to the spot and pounding with all his might.

"Oh, Dean," Cas cried out, "Fuuuuck!"

"Yeah," Dean grunted, reaching beneath and grasping Cas' throbbing dick and pumping three times in rhythm with his thrusting and Cas was coming and bucking beneath the weight and continued pumping of Dean. "Oooohhhh," Dean yelled, riding out Cas' orgasm and coming. He pumped and shook until he collapsed.

He only laid there a moment before he pulled out and flopped off of Cas.

"Are you okay?" He panted. "Did I hurt you? Are you bleeding?" He pushed at Cas until he rolled slightly, Dean looking at his abdomen.

"M good," Cas mumbled, eyes closed in post orgasmic bliss. "M good, Dean. So good."

Dean flopped back down and gathered Cas into his arms gently. "You're so good," he mumbled back. "That was...oh my God, that was good."

Twenty minutes later they cleaned up and got back in bed. 

"Dean, that was...I feel amazing. You, are amazing."

Dean pulled him in close, wrapping around him like he always did.

Dean leaned up and kissed him. "Let's do lots more of that. Lots."

Cas giggled, holding him tight and falling asleep warm and sated in every way.

=======================================

 

Dean pulled up to the curb in front of the home he grew up in. He pulled the keys out of the ignition and sat there staring at the front door for a moment.

“I’m not real sure how this is gonna go.”

Cas slid a hand onto Dean’s thigh. “Whatever happens, I can handle it. Okay?”

Dean puffed out a sigh. “It’s just...I always told my dad I would enlist. Like he did.”

Cas nodded.

Dean looked over at him. He and Cas had been together for three weeks now. His parents knew nothing about the entire relationship. Things were changing. Ellen had replaced Cas as the dishwasher with some young kid that Dean just couldn’t relate to. Cas was leaving soon to go to Denver. He had to do this tonight. Lisa had left the Roadhouse already. And Sam only had two weeks until he left for college. It was time for him to make a move. He just wasn’t sure how or when to tell his parents. His mom was going to cry. And his dad? Well, who knew?

Dean’s cellphone chirped. He pulled it out.

Sam: are you coming in, Jerk? Or you just gonna drop bombs telepathically?

Dean: shut up, bitch.

“Let’s go.”

Cas grinned, getting out of the car. He seemed not nearly nervous enough. Worst case scenario that Dean had conjured was that his dad would blame everything on Cas. They would fight. And Dean would never speak to his parents again. So...that was probably ridiculous. But still. It was a possibility.

He went inside with a knock. “Hello!”

“Dean!” His mom called from the kitchen. “Get in here so I can-“ she met him at the kitchen doorway, hugging him tight, “hug you!” He hugged her back, squirming only slightly as she kissed his temple at least five times. “I haven’t seen you in weeks!”

“Sorry, Mom,” Dean grinned as she beamed a smile at him. “I’ve been really busy.”

She stepped away from him, mixing a bowl of mashed potatoes vigorously. “I heard. Sam says you and Lisa broke up.” She stopped mixing to look at him. “She was such a sweet girl, Dean.”

“Yeah, well, she wasn’t really my type, it turns out.” 

Cas stepped into the kitchen behind Dean. 

“Mom, this is Cas. The guy I said I was bringing to dinner.”

Mary wiped her hands on a towel and stepped around Dean. “Hello, Cas. I’m Mary. It’s nice to meet you.”

Cas shook her hand with a smile. “You as well. Thank you for having me over for dinner.”

“Sure! Oh, when the boys were young we always had a full kitchen table. Their friends were always hanging around for dinner.” She went back to mixing. “So where did you two meet?”

“At the Roadhouse. Cas used to work there. Well, still does as Ellen’s accountant.”

The table was already set and a heavy, beefy smell hung in the air. He looked back at his mom. “Need any help?”

Mary was studying Cas with a new look. “You are the one that helped Ellen save the Roadhouse? The one that chased that lawyer away?”

“Well, I did help,” Cas shrugged shyly. “But my brother Gabriel is the lawyer that came from Denver. He was more instrumental than I was.”

She went back to mixing slowly as Sam came in the kitchen. “Hey, Cas! Hey, Dean!”

“Hi, Sam,” the pair answered.

Dean could tell his mom was wondering something, but his dad came in the back door. “Hey, Dean! Nice to finally see you.”

Dean smirked. “I live like two miles from here, ya know. You two could drop by too.”

John grinned, smacking his shoulder. He caught sight of Cas and angled toward him. “Hi.”

“Hello, I’m Cas. Dean invited me for dinner.”

“Cas.” He studied him only a few seconds before shaking his hand. “You the kid that got stabbed behind the Roadhouse?”

“I am,” Cas nodded.

Mary and John exchanged a look. 

“What?” Dean asked.

John crossed his arms over his chest, looking more closely at Dean. “I talked to Jody the other day and she said she thought you were dating Cas. The kid that got stabbed by an ex behind the Roadhouse.”

Dean rubbed a nervous hand over the back of his neck. He thought they would at least be sitting and eating when all this came out. “Uh...yeah. I am.”

John’s eyebrows raised as he rocked back on his heels. “You’re dating Cas.”

“Yeah,” Dean admitted nervously.

“This Cas,” John pointed at Cas. Cas gave Dean a warning look. He had told Dean to tell his parents before they came. That it would be easier. But he hadn’t.

“Yes, Dad. Mom. This is Cas. We’re dating,” Dean admitted, feeling every eye in the room on him.

John nodded, studying Cas. “This the guy you and Sam were beatin’ the shit out of each other over in the front yard?”

Cas was starting to look worried now.

Sam’s eyebrows shot up at that one. “That was...yeah, but that wasn’t Cas’ fault. That was just dumb brother stuff.”

John bit his lip, giving Cas another look. “This still a problem?”

“No!” Sam guffawed. “God, Dad, would you drop it? Please?”

John looked at Dean.

“It was a misunderstanding that Sam and I cleared up the next day, Dad.”

John nodded his head. “Alright. So...this is a meet the parents dinner? A warning woulda been nice, Dean.”

“Yeah,” Dean said quietly. He had thought about calling and telling them a million times. But he just couldn’t do it.

“Nice to meet you Cas,” John nodded, shaking his hand.

“You too, sir.” Cas gave him a tight, nervous nod.

Mary sat the potatoes on the table. “Dinner is ready.”

They all moved quietly to the table, sitting down. They passed dishes and started eating.

John gave his son a thoroughly confused look, pausing in passing a bowl, he asked, “So...Dean...you’re into guys now?”

Dean’s face went crimson. “Yeah.”

John passed the bowl. “I gotta say, I often wondered...but,” he shrugged his shoulders, “what do I know.”

Dean’s blush faded as he stared at his dad. Sam chuckled and Mary just smiled supportively. “You ‘wondered’?”

John’s eyebrows raised and he grinned wide. “Yeah. I wondered.”

Dean sat back, totally thrown off. “I never wondered! What made you think I was bi?”

John and Mary exchanged a look. “Uh,” he shrugged. “You’re my son, Dean. I know you. When Sam came out, I figured you might too. But you didn’t...so,” he shrugged. “Whatever. You know I don’t care about that kind of thing, Dean.”

“I know,” Dean nodded quietly. “I really just...didn’t know. But yeah. And it’s pretty serious.”

Mary’s eyebrows shot up this time as she put a fork full of potatoes into her mouth. Dean was pretty sure she was trying not to look too excited.

He knew telling his parents about dating Cas was not going to be an issue. It was pretty much everything else they would talk about that was going to potentially piss them off.

“So, Cas,” Mary started, “do you have any plans for the future?”

Cas lowered his fork full of roast beef back to his plate. “I am finishing my last year of school to be an accountant.”

“Oh! That sounds-“

“Boring.” John cut in. He grinned up at Cas. “Sorry. But it sounds boring as hell.”

Cas grinned back. “I like numbers. They are easier than people. Generally.”

Sam and Dean laughed, John nodded and Mary grinned.

“I see how you and Dean are compatible then,” John said. “He’s an unsociable shit.”

Cas and Dean exchanged a grin. “It’s true,” Dean shrugged.

“Cas’ brother is Gabriel. The lawyer that helped Ellen keep the Roadhouse.”

John smirked at Sam. “Huh. Brothers. Isn’t that interesting.”

Sam caught the look and frowned in confusion, slowing the bite he was chewing. “Wha?”

“Bobby says you been gettin’ pretty cozy with the new guy from the Roadhouse. I thought that was Cas.” John turned a look at Cas. “So, is there two of you, or what?”

Cas gave Dean a look. If Dean had just talked to his parents, none of this uncomfortable conversation would be happening.

“Do you old people have nothing better to do than sit around and talk about us?” Dean scoffed.

“Dean Michael,” Mary snapped. “We are not old.” She rolled her eyes. “And we wouldn’t have to talk about you if you just talked to us.”

Dean sighed. 

“My brother Gabriel has recently started working for Ellen. I asked him to come help,” Cas clarified.

“So,” Mary asked, leaning forward. “You and this...lawyer are what, Sam? Dating? Or just hanging out a lot? How old is he?”

“Oh my God,” Sam sighed. “He’s 26. He’s a practicing lawyer. Very smart guy, graduated high school early and has already passed the bar. Like a few months ago. I didn’t tell you, because I thought you would freak out about it.”

Cas frowned.

John frowned. “Are you two dating?”

Sam put his fork down. “Yes.”

“You are getting ready to leave for school in two weeks,” Mary said, concerned.

Sam gave Dean a pleading look. Dean raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t sure how to get him out of this one. He shook his head, shrugging.

Sam rolled his eyes. “We’re both adults.”

“Barely,” John said seriously.

“Dad!” Sam balked.

“Dad,” Dean cut in, waving Sam off, to be quiet. “Gabe is a great guy. And honestly, maturity wise, they’re the same age.”

Mary and John’s eyebrows raised.

“Okay, maybe not the right strategy,” Dean sighed, sitting back.

“I get the feeling there’s more going on here than what we’re figuring out on our own,” John said, sitting back. “Spill it, boys.”

“I’m moving,” Dean blurted. “I’m leaving next week with Cas. We’re moving in with Gabe so Cas can finish school and I can do an apprenticeship and get my tattoo artist license. In Denver.”

“What?!” His parents blurted back.

“I know it’s crazy and not what I talked about,” Dean continued, “but it’s what I want.”

“So much for the Marines,” John huffed.

Dean nodded, looking guilty. He knew his dad would be disappointed.

“Dean...” his dad sighed, “this is awfully...fast.”

“It’s not...really,” Dean admitted. “I already have a portfolio. I’ve done one apprenticeship already. I just didn’t think it could happen. I thought the Marines was my only option...but, it’s not.”

He glanced at Cas, getting that small, steady grin that he always had ready. 

“I’m sorry it seems fast to you guys. But I feel like I’ve been waiting a long time for this. Like,” he turned to Cas, “my life finally fits. I’m,” he grinned at his boyfriend, “excited for what will happen next.”

His mom grinned, but his dad frowned.

“Sorry, Dad.”

John shook his head. “Don’t be sorry, Dean.” He sighed heavily. “It sounds...pretty exciting.” He gave Dean a slow grin. “And I gotta admit, with the world the way it is today, I wasn’t looking forward to you enlisting.” He sat back, actually looking relieved.

“Are you serious?” Dean said, shocked.

John laughed. “Whew! I gotta say, Dean, I was afraid you would make a really good soldier. The kind they like to keep deploying. I’m fuckin’ relieved.”

“Unbelievable,” Dean said, still shocked. “I thought you’d be pissed.”

“Well, I’m relieved!” His mom said. “I mean, it’s very honorable...but, you are my baby!”

“You aren’t disappointed?” Dean pressed.

“I’m not disappointed,” his dad answered. “I don’t know about the tattoo thing though. You can’t make a real living at that kinda thing. Why don’t you work at the garage and do tattoos on the side.”

Dean frowned, sitting back. “I can make a real life out of it. I’m good. I mean...” doubt started pouring in. Maybe he wasn’t that good. Maybe this was a bad plan. Maybe the whole thing was a bad idea.

Cas gave his dad a determined look. “He’s amazing. And it’s what he loves. I know this is all happening fast, but that just might mean it’s what’s right for him.”

John narrowed his eyes at Cas for a moment but softened. “Maybe. I don’t know. I’m gonna have whiplash if we move any faster though. Any more jewels to share?”

Dean raised an eyebrow at Sam.

“Uh, um, yeah,” Sam stammered, “I’m going with them.”

“What?” Their parents snapped.

“Sam,” their mom snapped again, looking like she might explode.

“I’m gonna move in with Gabe and switch to University of Colorado. Th-they have a great pre-law program.”

“Like hell,” their dad growled.

“You have a plan,” Mary said angrily. “This Gabriel is whisking into town and stealing my children!”

“Mom,” Sam and Dean moaned.

“I knew you were gonna freak out,” Sam said testily. “That’s exactly why Gabe isn’t here. That and he’s in Denver working.”

“You are changing your college plans at the last second to follow an older man you barely know to another state, and I’m supposed to just go with it?”

“Your mother’s right,” John said harshly. “You aren’t going anywhere except Stanford, where you belong.”

Sam breathed out slowly, controlling his temper. “I already checked into it. I can transfer easily. I also looked into some scholarships.”

“You already have a scholarship!” John stated, shaking his head no. “It’s not happening.”

Sam sat back. “It’s my life. It’s my choice. Dad...Mom...I thought about it a lot. It’s all I’ve been thinking about. I’m not going to Stanford. I didn’t really want to go there in the first place. And...University of Colorado accepted my application.”

Dean actually felt bad for his parents. They looked stunned. Hurt. They had really got on board with Sam’s dreams of going to college to be a lawyer. When he got into Stanford, they had all been more than proud. And they had all buckled down to help him realize his dreams. Now he was throwing them a huge curve ball. He leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table. “If Sam goes with us, I promise to keep a close eye on him. I mean...we’ll all be living at Gabe’s. So...no stupid dorm parties or college partying.”

The table was silent.

Mary stood up. “This isn’t how we do things in this family. We don’t just...start a new life with no warning! Is this how your family works, Cas? Did you and your brother plan this?”

“Mom!” Dean said in shock. “This has nothing to do with Cas and Gabe. I mean...it does...but they didn’t come up with this plan. I want to go. Cas is going. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but we’re leaving next week. I didn’t mean to make this so bad. It’s...” he sighed, looking down. “It’s not supposed to be a bad thing at all. I’m gonna try to do what I love instead of what people think is best for me. I’m...” he looked over at Cas who was watching him closely. “I’m in love.”

Cas’ jaw dropped just a fraction, his eyes a more brilliant blue than ever Dean had seen them. He took Cas’ hand. 

“And,” he turned back to his parents, “I really think it’s a good thing. Sam was already pretty hesitant to go to California. This way we can be together and I can keep an eye on him.”

“What about Stanford?” His dad asked, looking much calmer and back at Sam.

“All I have to do is withdrawal. I’ll lose two of the scholarships I had there, but the counselor at Colorado said they would hook me up. I’m just not sure yet what they can offer. I’ll hear more from them tomorrow.” Sam ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry this all happened so fast. I know it seems rash and foolish, but I know it’s the right thing to do. I know I was excited about Stanford. But...California is so far away.”

“And you’ll be living with Gabe?” John growled.

“Yes,” Sam nodded, biting his lip.

Their mom, who was still standing, staring at all of them in shock, left the room. They listened as her footsteps went up the steps and her bedroom door slammed.

Sam dropped his head into his hands. “She’s upset.”

John rolled his lip, his eyes cold. “Yes, genius, she’s upset. So am I. And no matter what you try to sell me, it’s all rash and foolish. And 99% because of this Gabe.” His cold look traveled to Cas and then to Dean. “She’ll come around. But if this college shit backfires...there will be hell to pay.”

Dean nodded, glancing at Sam.

“This wasn’t Dean’s plan,” Sam tried to explain.

John nodded, not moved by the statement. “Dean, good luck. I’m sure you’ll do great. Sam...we’ll talk more later.”

To Dean and Sam’s surprise, their dad left the table, heading upstairs to their mom.

Sam dropped his head into his hands again. “Shit.”

Dean pushed some food around on his plate. “Well, it could have been worse.”

Sam gave him a bitchface. Cas sat back, looking frustrated. 

The full weight of the conversation that had taken place hit Dean like a ton of bricks. “Sorry, Cas. This was...”

“A fucking disaster,” Sam snapped, shoving his plate away, standing up and walking out the back door.

“Yeah,” Dean sighed. He looked at Cas nervously.

Cas was studying his half-eaten dinner. He was definitely looking worried now. “This wasn’t our intention.”

“Cas,” Dean said softly.

“I think maybe I should go. You need time to talk. Dean, please fix this. Somehow.”

Cas stood, Dean standing with him. “No, Cas!”

Cas looked at him with timid strength. “You should stay, Dean. Talk. It’s important. Family is important.”

Dean closed his eyes as Cas left. When he heard the front door shut, he opened his eyes. He sat down heavily, looking at the empty seats at the table. Cas was right. They needed to talk.

He and Cas weren’t under the gun nearly as bad as Sam and Gabe. But the empty table was not okay. Sam continually losing his temper wasn’t okay either. If Sam wanted to be treated like an adult, he was going to have to act like one. Even now when he was frustrated. It was too much, too fast, for their parents. Seeing the hurt in their eyes hurt him as well.

How the hell was he going to fix this?

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

Cas walked from Dean’s parents house to one of the main streets in town. He didn’t blame Dean’s parents for being upset. Especially about Sam.

He pulled his phone out, calling Gabriel.

“Hey, Cassie, what’s up?” Gabe answered, sounding tired.

“I think we have a problem.”

“Are the parents freaking?”

“A bit.”

“Shit.” Gabe blew out a breath. “Do I need to come there?”

Cas glanced around at the small town. “I have no idea.”

“I’m in a pre-trial interview right now. It’s gonna be days before I can get there.”

Cas nodded. “You need to call Sam and check on him.”

“I’m sorry, Cassie. Maybe the whole idea was too much.”

Cas sat on a bench. “It’s a wonderful idea. I’m just not sure about you and Sam. That’s what threw their parents off.”

“So...show up and schmooze the parents. Got it.”

“Gabriel, whatever it is you’re thinking, it’s probably not going to work. These are very down-to-earth people. It’s not about the money. It’s about an older man changing their impressionable son’s mind.”

“Uuuuhhhh,” Gabe moaned. “Parents suck.”

“They just...care.”

“I gotta go before this DA has a melt-down because I’m not waiting on her hand and foot.”

They said a quick goodbye, hanging up. For all the good he felt he had given the Roadhouse, he couldn’t help feeling like he was doing the town a disservice by pulling the Winchesters out. He tapped his fingers on the bench. Maybe John and Mary were right. It was Cas’ fault his own family was torn apart. Now he and Gabe were responsible for tearing apart another family. It was like he was toxic. April had tried to kill herself because of him.

He took in a shaky breath. He was ruining everyone he touched. A familiar panic settled into his chest. If he disappeared...Dean and Sam’s life would go back to normal. Like he had never been here. Like he hadn’t ruined everything. He shut his eyes, pressing his forehead down onto his shaky fists. 

No. 

That wasn’t right. Disappearing was wrong. He could never do that again to anyone. He needed to figure out what to do.

His phone chirped. The phone Dean had recently gotten him. He pulled it out of his pocket.

Gabe: No freaking out on me. We will figure this out. Love you.

Cas sighed. It was as if Gabe knew exactly what he needed to hear.

Cas: I hope you are right. I love you too.

He stared at the little bubble on his screen. ‘I love you too’. Dean had told him that he loved him! In the midst of all the chaos and worry...Dean had looked right at him and said he loved him! Love!

“Oh, God,” he jumped up, looking around frantically as if he would find Dean there. No one was around. “I love you too, Dean!”

He ran the two miles back to Dean’s parents house. He took a deep breath before knocking on the door. Mary answered, looking very surprised to see him. “Cas...come in.”

“Thank you.” He stepped inside. 

“Dean isn’t with you?”

“No. I took a walk and decided I should come back. He left already?” John came out of the kitchen, looking at him curiously. “I didn’t want to give you the impression I was running away from anything.”

John nodded. “Come in, kid. Have a seat.”

Cas sat on the sofa. Mary and John sat in the living room as well. Cas sat back. “I feel terrible for how all of this happened tonight.”

Mary and John exchanged a look. 

“I do too,” Mary said softly. “We talked after you left. I’m sorry about dinner. It was all just so...shocking. But I know Dean is adamant. I have never seen him so driven about anything before. Now, suddenly, he has...goals.”

Cas nodded. “We do. I know it’s a lot to accept all at once. And I can assure you, Sam is my friend. I would never let him ruin his life by making a bad decision.”

Mary and John did not look completely convinced, but they weren’t arguing with him either.

John gave him a curious look. “I honestly didn’t know Dean was this into guys. I mean, he had some posters on his walls in his room that kinda made me wonder...but...” 

Cas grinned shyly. “Dean didn’t know either.”

John gave him an amused grin. “Well, he seems more sure about you than anyone else he’s ever been with.”

The front door opened, slamming shut. Dean stepped into the living room, looking shocked. “Cas!”

Cas stood up, hugging Dean tightly. He was a bit surprised how hard Dean hugged him. “Cas,” Dean mumbled into his ear. “I was afraid you left!”

“Dean, I would never do that!” He pulled back, looking into Dean’s green eyes. “I love you, Dean, I would never just leave. We have plans!”

Dean huffed a laugh. “Yeah, of course! I just...I went back to the apartment and you weren’t there. I didn’t know where you went. I panicked.” He grinned, leaning back to really look at Cas. “You love me?”

Cas blushed hard. “I...I do.”

Dean glanced nervously toward his parents. He looked back at Cas, swallowing. “I love you too, Cas,” he whispered, hugging him to him. 

The hug lingered long enough that Mary and John walked out of the room, both grinning.

“I think your parents might like me. A little.”

Dean chuckled, looking to see that they had left. “They will. One way or another.” He combed a bit of Cas’ hair back. “Cause I plan on you being around.”

Cas grinned, kissing him. “Sorry I did that in front of your parents. It just...slipped out.”

Dean licked his lips. “It’s not the first time.”

“What do you mean?”

Dean kissed him again, sliding his chin closer to Cas’ ear. “The other night after we had sex, you were half asleep and I moved you over. You told me you loved me.”

Cas’ jaw dropped a bit. “I...had no idea. But I’m not surprised. I wanted to tell you. I just didn’t want to scare you off.”

Dean pulled back, his eyes drifting from his eyes to his mouth. “Do I look scared?”

Cas grinned, shaking his head no. “No.”

Dean kissed him again, opening his mouth and moaning softly as Cas ventured in. It might be familiar by now, but it in no way got old.

“Let’s go home,” Dean said low and full of promise.

He pulled Cas from the living room by his hand, stopping in the kitchen. “Hey, we’re gonna head out.”

“Cas, don’t be a stranger,” John grinned. “Glad we finally got to meet you.”

“Thank you, sir. And I’m sure you will like Gabe as well. As unorthodox as all this seems, he cares very much for Sam.”

Mary had a different sort of smile now. Friendlier and easier. “Cas,” she crossed the kitchen, hugging him, “thanks for coming back. It meant a lot.”

Cas hugged her back awkwardly. 

“Here, take some leftovers with you,” she grinned, pulling containers out of the fridge.

“Thanks, Mom,” Dean grinned, taking them and hugging her. “Talk to you later, Dad.”

John waved as they left.

“Dude, you went back to my parents alone? That’s ballsier than the dude you slammed onto the floor at the Roadhouse.”

“Thank you, Dean,” Cas smirked.

They drove the short drive home quickly. They climbed the stairs to the apartment door. Dean handed Cas the keys.

Cas gave him a head tilt with a confused look. “You can’t unlock the door?”

“I can,” Dean growled, turning Cas toward the door roughly. “It’ll be more fun to watch you try.”

Cas moaned as Dean kissed his neck from behind, pinning him to the door. Cas watched as Dean’s hand landed with a thud against the door. His tattoos decorated his skin with enticing appeal. Cas knew every image, he had tasted all of them. Dean’s other hand was pulling his hip back against Dean’s.

Cas could feel his hard length rubbing against his ass. He moaned as Dean’s mouth sucked skin enough to make Cas breathless. 

“You better unlock that door, or I’m gonna fuck you right here in front of anyone passing by.”

Cas tipped his head down, fumbling with the keys. He felt Dean’s hand slide from his hip to the front of his jeans. Cas sorted through the keys in his hand, stabilizing himself with the other hand.

“Dean!” Cas panted, pressing his butt back, Dean pressing harder against him, chuckling.

Dean unbuttoned his jeans. Cas found the right key.

Dean pulled his zipper down, groaning into Cas’ ear. Cas jammed the key in the lock.

Dean fished his hand into Cas’ pants. Cas turned the key in the lock, hearing the click he needed so bad.

Dean’s hand secured a grip on Cas’ dick.

“Dean!” Cas huffed, laughing. Cas turned the knob, the door springing inward.

Dean shoved them forward and they fell to the floor, Cas gasping with raging arousal. 

Dean kicked the door closed with his foot, never letting go of Cas’ hip or dick.

“Dean, bedroom,” Cas panted, canting his hips to let Dean rip his jeans and boxers down.

“Why?” Dean panted, turning Cas on the floor so he was on his back. He undid his belt and had his pants off faster than Superman in a phone booth.

“Lube,” Cas grinned, kissing him rough, wrapping his arms around Dean’s shoulders.

Dean, on all fours, shifted slightly. Cas assumed they would be getting up. 

He writhed, throwing his head back as Dean steadily ran one lubed finger inside him. “Fuck!” Cas gasped.

“Ha,” Dean grinned down at him devilishly. “Go ahead and squirm.”

Cas tipped his chin up, huffing a wild grin back at him. “Damn, Dean!”

“More, you say?” Dean pulled out, running two in just as steadily. “How’s that?”

Cas gasped, wrapping a leg around Dean’s back. “Good! And...not enough!” He had never felt like he had gone from 0-60 so fast. Dean could ramp up his libido in an instant.

“Oh, is that a challenge?” Dean spread his fingers, sliding with a practiced hand.

“No challenge, just fuck me already.”

Dean bit his lip, pulling his hand away. He pulled his own shirt off and waited as Cas did the same. As his shirt came off his head, Dean was lubing his dick. “Cas...”. Dean’s eyes searched his face, his speed dropping. “God, I want you so bad.” He dropped a kiss down on him while he opened him that was as pornographic as what he was waiting for. Dean grabbed both their dicks, sliding his lubed hand up both of them.

“I want you,” Cas whispered, groaning at Dean’s touch. “I want you inside me.”

Dean stilled his hand, sliding his dick down as he lifted his hips, pressing inside slow and steady. 

“Stop,” Cas huffed, relaxing his hips.

Dean braced himself, licking his own lips and waiting. Their eyes met.

“Go,” Cas whispered. “I swear you’re twice as big as you usually are.”

Dean grinned. “If you weren’t in such a hurry, I coulda stretched you more. Or maybe I am twice as big. I’m twice as horny, that’s for sure.”

Cas grinned with a deep giggle. “What got you so wound up?”

Dean pumped several times, making them both moan. “Ride me.”

Cas grinned, holding on as Dean lifted him. Dean slouched against the wall, Cas straddling him.

He rested his forehead to Dean’s, feeling the stretch with a groan.

“I love you,” Dean whispered, looking up at him.

From the look on Dean’s face, he wanted this as badly as he did. He slid up and down. “I love you.”

Cas watched Dean’s arms flex and lift him, his tattoos bulging and shifting. The jagged star on his pec heaved with his breath.

Cas rode him with a new sense of bonding. Dean stroked him with one hand, bracing his waist with the other. Cas grabbed the window sill, riding Dean with all the want he had. He lost all sense of humanity, lifting to an ethereal plane as his orgasm crashed with a pulsing vibration. The pulsing continued as Dean came, clinging to him, burying himself as far as he could go.

Cas collapsed, gasping, onto Dean’s shoulders. “God, I love you.”

“Yeah,” Dean panted, hugging him tight. “Love you. A lot. A whole lot.”

They eventually made it to bed. Cas ached in his still healing stab wound, but it was worth every wince. What Dean did to him was something Cas had never even dreamt of.

“I’m so glad you’re a rule breaker,” Cas whispered as they settled into bed.

“Me? A rule breaker? No way.”

Cas grinned, turning onto his side for Dean to spoon him. “Ellen’s rules. If you hadn’t broken her rules about dating co-workers...we could have missed each other.”

Dean kissed his bare shoulder. “I’d break every rule in the universe for you, Cas.”

Cas grinned, knowing Dean meant it. And he knew he would break every rule in the universe for Dean. They barely had family support. They were broke. They had two dreams on shaky ground. But they were determined and in love. With those two motivations, they felt unstoppable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone! I have made some new friends! Found some old! And had so much fun hearing from you all while this was posting! I give you all Kudos!  
> Now for my sales pitch...Part 2 will be coming out within a week or two. It’s a continuation. What will Denver be like? Living together in Gabe’s tiny apartment should prove interesting. The smut is heavier, the lawyers are dastardly, and there’s quite a bit more Sabriel. The Roadhouse is once again in trouble, for a whole new reason.  
> Stay tuned guys!! <3 <3


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